State aid for cassava farmers
The government is set to introduce measures to curb the adverse impact of falling tapioca prices in light of lower imports from China and price-cutting competition. Wiboonlasana Ruamraksa, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the measures include schemes to cut farmers’ existing loan interest, increase productivity and upgrade production and processing standards. The cabinet late last month approved soft loan packages worth 5.36 billion baht to help alleviate hardships for cassava farmers, who have been feeling the pinch from falling tapioca prices. Cassava root prices with 25% moisture are now quoted at 1.70-2.00 baht a kilogramme, down sharply from 2.30 baht a kg in the same period last year. Of the total budget, some 372 million baht will go to subsidise a 3% loan interest rate for the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, with 2.3 billion to increase productivity through a special interest rate of 4% a year.
