BANGKOK- Thailand will give support of 38 billion baht ($1.1 billion) to rice farmers in an effort to boost productivity, its agriculture minister said on Monday.
Farmers will receive 1,000 baht ($29) per rai for up to 10 rai (1.6 hectares), minister NarumonPinyosinwat told reporters, adding about 4.68 million households would benefit.
The assistance plan would be proposed to cabinet at a meeting scheduled for Friday, Narumon said.
Thailand, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter, shipped out 8.37 million metric tons of rice in the first 10 months of the year, up 20 percent annually, the commerce ministry has said.
It is expected to export more than 9 million tons over the full year, worth $6.4 billion, the ministry said.
Thailand’s exports could grow more than 2 percent this year and beat a previous forecast, the Thai National Shippers’ Council said.
“At worst, if Q4 numbers are the same as last year, exports should exceed 2 percent,” said Chaichan Chareonsuk, chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council.
The council previously saw 2 percent growth.
Exports, a key driver of the economy, rose 1.1 percent in September from a year earlier. The government is targeting export growth of 2 percent this year, with the value of shipments expected to reach a record high of $290 billion.
In the January-September period, exports rose 3.9 percent from the same period in 2023, commerce ministry data showed, with shipments expected to continue to increase in the final quarter.
There could be some exchange rate loss among exporters in the fourth quarter from the baht appreciation, Chaichan said.
At the end of September, the baht reached a 31-month high at 32.125, before gradually depreciating to its weakest level in over two months at 33.915. “The exchange rate in the fourth quarter of 33.5 to 33.8 is considered manageable,” Chaichan said.