Ministry monitors hom mali harvest

The Commerce Ministry is monitoring the situation concerning the new harvest season of hom mali rice, with a plan to propose support measures to the National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC) to help farmers.
Wittayakorn Maneenetr, a spokesman for the Commerce Ministry, said Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has a policy of taking care of rice farmers to ensure that the selling price received by rice farmers will not be lower than the administered prices.
Following a visit to Kasetwisai Agricultural Cooperative Ltd in Roi Et province, a source of Thung Kula Rong Hai hom mali rice, it was found that farmers had begun to gradually harvest hom mali paddy rice KB 15.
According to Mr Wittayakorn, the market price for hom mali paddy rice is about 14,800-15,000 baht per tonne with a moisture level of 15% at present.
However, once harvested, the moisture content normally reaches 25%, resulting in selling prices of roughly 12,000-12,500 baht per tonne.
The market price stands at only 11,000 baht per tonne at present, which is considered to be less than a fair price.
In light of this, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and the Commerce Ministry, in collaboration with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, is proposing support measures to the NRPC on Nov 8 which involve loans to farmers to delay the sale of hom mali paddy rice with a moisture level of 25% for a period of five months, along with loans to agricultural cooperatives to intervene in the market to buy paddy rice until prices become more favourable.
Moreover, Mr Wittayakorn met with representatives of the community enterprise to promote hom mali rice through various activities, which include a rice competition and expansion of the market network.
The competition would help foster adding value, maintain quality and promote cultivation standards.
The Internal Trade Department is closely monitoring the price of paddy rice to ensure a fair price for farmers.
Mr Wittayakorn said farmers can report unfair practices or underpriced rice to the department’s 1569 hotline or provincial commerce offices.
Rice output improved for the 2024/2025 harvest, up 3% to reach 34 million tonnes of paddy rice, comprising main crop and second crop, compared with the 2023/2024 harvest.
Referring to an earlier measure supporting the development of rice quality at 1,000 baht per rai, Mr Wittayakorn said the proposed measure would first need to be proposed by the Rice Department and gain approval from the NRPC on Nov 8.