Economics
Thailand Swears Off Subsidies in Bid to Cut Crop Surpluses
- New policies promote higher value crops, cost-cutting
- Farmers have inadequate water to plant dry-season crops
A farmer checks rice prior to harvesting in a paddy field in Ayutthaya province, Thailand.
Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter, vowed not to reintroduce subsidies in the face of a worsening drought as it pushes ahead with plans to eliminate crop surpluses.
Restoring market balance and improving farm income are key planks of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha’s policy as the government seeks to restructure the farm sector and to eliminate the stockpile of 13 million metric tons of rice built up by former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at a cost of 885 billion baht ($25 billion).