Of the amount, Bt1,100 would go to plantation owners, Bt700 to tappers. The measure, starting in December , would run for five months, according to government spokesman Puttipong Punnakanta.

It followed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s call for urgent relief measures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives within a week.

The government aims to provide the financial assistance to 999,065 registered plantation owners and 304,266 registered tappers in a total area of 10,039,672.29 rais. The budget allocated for this measure is Bt18.604 billion.

The Cabinet yesterday also agreed to buy 160,000 tonnes of raw palm oil for Bt18 per kilogramme for electricity production between this month and February next year.