A farmer sprays paddy seeds in a rice field in Chainat province, Thailand, Aug 31, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/file photo
BANGKOK – Thailand’s cabinet has approved a plan to suspend debt repayments for millions of farmers for three years at a total cost of about 33 billion baht ($908 million) to the government, according to a deputy finance minister. The suspension of both principal and interest payments will commence on October 1 and farmers who have remained up-to-date with interest payments will also be eligible to borrow up to 100,000 baht from the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives. The objective of this measure is to alleviate the financial burden on farmers, enabling them to recover. An estimated 2.7 million farmers will be eligible to participate.
Thailand, the second-largest rice exporter globally, faces among the highest levels of household debt in Asia.
READ: Soaring rice prices sow hope – and trouble – for indebted Thai farmers
In 2021, government data showed that 66.7 percent of all agricultural households in Thailand were in debt, primarily due to farming-related activities. Many farming families are facing financial strain due to generations of debt incurred for their crops.
The debt suspension plan is part of a series of measures implemented by the populist government, which assumed office last month, in an effort to revive a sluggish economy affected by declining exports and decreasing investor confidence. The government estimates that the debt suspension will cost approximately 11 billion baht ($302.8 million) annually, with an initial allocation of 12 billion baht approved by the cabinet on Tuesday.
($1 = 36.34 baht)
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
