The Ministry of Commerce will propose to the National Rice Policy and Management Committee (NRPMC) additional measures to stabilize the price of paddy rice for the 2025/26 harvest season. The plan involves three state agencies — the Public Warehouse Organization (PWO), the Marketing Organization for Farmers (MOF), and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) — to purchase paddy rice directly from farmers at market-leading prices, with a target of 3 million tons. The aim is to lift paddy prices by 3–5% during the peak harvest season.
On October 24, 2025, Wuttikorn Maneenet, Director-General of the Department of Internal Trade, explained that each agency will buy rice according to its capacity, within the 3-million-ton target. Purchases will be resold to existing clients such as the Department of Corrections or through normal market channels. Funding will come from the agencies themselves, with government support for management costs.
This measure supplements earlier NRPMC-approved programs, including:
- Credit for delayed sales: Farmers can store rice in barns and receive 1,500 baht per ton, with a target of 3 million tons.
- Credit for farmer cooperatives: 1.5 million tons, supporting collective storage and value-added activities.
- Interest compensation for rice mills: Supporting stockpiling of 4 million tons of rice.
The government also plans to accelerate rice exports through government-to-government (G2G) deals, including 500,000 tons to China and 100,000 tons to Singapore, while expanding into new markets such as Mexico and Bangladesh. Additional initiatives include promoting broken rice for animal feed and supporting value-added processing such as rice milling technology and packaging development.
For the 2025/26 harvest season, total paddy production is estimated at 26.99 million tons (equivalent to 17.54 million tons of milled rice). As of October 22, 2025, 6.05 million tons of paddy (3.9 million tons of milled rice) have already entered the market, representing 22% of total output. The bulk of production will reach the market from November onward. Current farm-gate prices are:
- Jasmine paddy: 15,200–16,500 baht/ton
- Pathum Thani paddy: 8,200–8,700 baht/ton
- White paddy: 6,100–6,800 baht/ton
- Glutinous paddy: 8,200–9,000 baht/ton
If approved, the measures are expected to raise paddy prices by 3–5%.
Meanwhile, Thai rice export prices have dropped sharply compared to 2024:
- Thai 5% white rice FOB: USD 354/ton (down 40% from USD 589/ton in 2024)
- Vietnamese white rice: USD 374/ton (down 33% from USD 555/ton in 2024)
- Vietnamese white rice (another grade): USD 366/ton
- Thai jasmine rice: USD 1,088/ton
- Vietnamese jasmine rice: USD 488/ton (about half the Thai price)
The Cabinet had earlier approved three stabilization programs on August 19, 2025:
- Credit for delayed sales: 133 cooperatives in 37 provinces, with total credit of 7.63 billion baht, covering 763,819 tons.
- Credit for rice collection and value addition: 170 cooperatives in 40 provinces, with 13.77 billion baht credit, covering 1.37 million tons.
- Interest compensation for rice traders: Supporting stockpiling of 4 million tons, with government subsidy of 642 million baht at 3% interest per year. Purchases run from November 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, ending October 31, 2027.
