The Commerce Ministry will seek approval from the panel that plans rice sales for another pledging scheme aimed at farmers who have rice barns.
The move is aimed at delaying the release of new supply in November and December, said Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
He said from late November through December, the in-season crop from northeastern rice fields would be ready for market.
He said from late November through December, the in-season crop from northeastern rice fields would be ready for market. Rice traders take advantage of farmers, who inevitably rush to sell output, by forcing them to sell at a cheap price, resulting in low market prices, Mr Charoen said.
To prevent that from occurring, the Commerce Ministry has come up with a plan to encourage rice farmers to delay their release from the barns by letting them pledge their output to the state.
The scheme will be open solely to Hom Mali grains, which is a major output during the period.
The Commerce Ministry plans to offer the eligible farmers 1,000 baht a tonne of Hom Mali rice with no limit, but the scheme participants must have the right methods of quality control at their barns.
The period of the scheme has not been settled, but the initial request may be for rice to remain stored for three months or until the paddy price steadies. "The rice farmers will lose nothing but instead receive cash to help them survive for three months until they can sell at a good price," Mr Charoen said.
The policy has been welcomed by exporters, who say the scheme will help to stabilise prices.
"We expect that over the last three months of the year, Thai rice exports will be at least 850,000 tonnes a month," Mr Charoen said. "The full year should see shipments of no less than 10 million tonnes."
This year's Hom Mali output is forecast in a range of 6-7 million tonnes of paddy or 3.5 million tonnes of milled rice, on a par with last year.