The decision was reached during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit with representatives of rice farmers, rice operators and representatives from the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.

The first, paddy rice with humidity at 15 per cent, will be priced at Bt10,000 per tonne with an income guarantee of not more than 30 tonnes per household or not more than 40 rai.

The next is glutinous rice, guaranteed a price of Bt12,000 per tonne, for not more than 16 tonnes per household or not over 40 rai.

Jasmine rice has been guaranteed a price of Bt15,000, not exceeding 40 rai or 14 tonnes per household.

Fragrant rice outside the area will be assured Bt14,000 per tonne, not more than 40 rai or not over 16 tonnes.

Pathumthani fragrant rice has been guaranteed a price not  exceeding Bt11,000, not more than 40 rai or not more than 25 tonnes.

“We will start the operation by attending the meeting of the National Commission on Rice Policy [National Rice Policy Committee] to determine the time,” Jurin said on Saturday.

The preliminary budget will be discussed at a meeting of the Rice Committee and will be offered to rice farmers registered with the Department of Agricultural Extension. The rice market price will be determined by a subcommittee that will set the criteria and announce the reference price every 15 days.

The parallel measures that will be implemented in production are reduction of production costs, management of fertilizers, medicines, harvest, promoting large agricultural systems or large plots, encouraging farmers to use good quality rice seeds and crop insurance, he said.

He added that the committee had also proposed cost saving measures in marketing, production, promotion of organic rice production and GAP rice or rice that has passed cultivation standards. They also proposed promotion of rice production for a specific market The long-term measure is to develop smart farms for farmers with focus on research on technology development and rice production innovation.

The meeting also proposed strategic improvements to Thai rice and expanding exports to new markets while maintaining old markets, he said.

Despite the current economic slowdown, the number of rich people in Thailand will continue to grow at a higher rate and will boost the private banking business, according to wealth managers.

Thailand and most other Asian countries are sensitive to the volatility of global trade, as their economic growth is led by exports. The ongoing trade war between the United States and China has caused a contraction of exports and is hurting the whole economy.

Vincent Magnenat, Lombard Odier’s chief executive officer for Asia Pacific, remains optimistic about the economy and the potential for the private banking business here.

Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4 per cent last year and it is forecast to expand 3.7 per cent this year. “Growth is here,” Magnenat said.

He also foresaw growth of private banking business-wealth management for high net worth individuals.

In Thailand, the number of people having assets worth over US$1 million (Bt30 million) would rise 10 per cent annually, those with assets worth more than $50 million would rise between 20-30 per cent and the number of billionaires would grow more than 30 per cent a year, said Magnenat.

He said that top private bankers in Asia manage less than 20 per cent of the assets of wealthy individuals. More than 80 per cent of their assets are onshore and are under management of major local players like KBank Private Banking.

Magnenat believes that as wealthy clients get high quality services and greater access to global assets, the number of private banking clients will rise further.

Many rich people earlier invested large amounts in local assets such as equities and bonds. They also held large amounts of cash that did not deliver much returns.

The cooperation between KBank Private Banking and Lombard Odier has changed the face of private banking business in the past four years, he said.

The new generation of Thai entrepreneurs need professionals to not only help them with investment management, but also wealth planning, family financial services and family-business governance, he noted. Meanwhile, Jirawat Supornpaibul, head of Kasikornbank’s private banking group, said that Lombard Odier has special expertise in the area of family wealth management, leading to KBank Private Banking’s philosophy that “perfect wealth comes from a combination of wealth and happiness; customers can live a worry-free lifestyle by easing their concerns in the areas of maintenance and succession of wealth”.

Thailand is expected to see a 26 per cent rise in the number of wealthy individuals during 2018-23. Jirawat said he expected customers of KBank Private Banking to rise 5 per cent annually. Currently it has more than 11,000 clients with assets under management of Bt760 billion.

On Friday it inaugurated its office in the Phrom Phong area, on the 42nd floor of Bhiraj Tower at EmQuartier. The new office location will offer greater convenience to customers, as it is close to many of the wealthy who live in the Sukhumvit area, Jirawat said.

Referring to market swings caused by the ongoing trade war, the two claimed this was the time for professionals who could make money in the highly volatile market.

They did not expect a recession next year and believed that central banks in many countries would cut their policy rates in order to shore up their economies.

Investment returns of their customers is about 8-9 per cent. In the first half of the year, the K-Alpha portfolio model one yielded 7.87 per cent and its model two delivered 9.25 per cent as of August 7.

Given the highly volatile global markets in recent weeks, investment returns could be lower in the rest of the year, Jirawat added.

Three broadcasters – Spring 26 (Channel 26, formerly known as Now 26), Spring News Television (Springnews 19 Channel) and Bright TV (Channel 20) pulled the plugs on their channels on the midnight of August 15 after returning their licences to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

Three other broadcasters returning their licences are: Voice TV (Channel 21), MCOT (Family Channel 14) and BEC Multimedia (Family Channel 13 and 3SD Channel 28). They will go off the air gradually by October.

These six commercial digital TV broadcasters had announced on on May 10 – the deadline for broadcasters intending to surrender their licences – that they would return a total of seven licences they had secured from the NBTC following an auction in 2013.

The SCB centre’s senior analyst, Kamonmarn Jaenglom, said that advertising revenue of these seven channels during the past five years accounted for less than 5 per cent of total TV advertising spending.

Corporates had also curtailed spending on TV advertising due to the volatile global and local economies this year as well the increase in digital TV operators’ airtime rates by over 4 per cent.

She added that the remaining broadcasters will still experience pressure from the decline in advertising revenue.

But in the medium term, they could generate more revenue and profit from the increasing advertising spending of direct TV companies.

Most of the broadcasters have adjusted their strategies by focusing on purchasing appealing international and local content, instead of producing their own content which entails a higher cost, she added.

Most of them have launched their own online channels, which fit well with the changing consumer behaviour, she said. The online channels will also become their new revenue source.

Ad spending on terrestrial and digital TVs dropped 3.33 per cent in July this year to about Bt5.774 billion, from Bt5.973 billion, according to a Nielsen media report.

Cable and satellite TV channels saw a 3.50 per cent drop in ad spending from Bt200 million to Bt193 million. Radio advertising was equally affected, dropping 1.44 per cent year on year from Bt418 million to Bt412 million, while outdoor media followed the same trend, dipping 0.34 per cent from Bt590 million to Bt588 million in July this year.

Related story: NBTC hands out refund cheques to 3 digital broadcasters

More than 100 used-tractor traders and farmers gathered in front of the Commerce Ministry on Friday morning, asking the authority to exempt tractors from the ministerial order that proposes a ban on the import of all used vehicles into the Kingdom. The order, which will take effect on December 10, will also prohibit the import of used tractors for any agricultural purposes.

They argued that the order would seriously impact more than 500,000 farmers and not less than 40 traders of used tractors throughout the country, who have been impacted and may have to shut down their business.

Boonchuay Sridech, a sugarcane farmer in Nakhon Sawan province, said that if the commerce minister still insisted on enforcing the order, individual farmers would be burdened by higher production cost.

Patcharin Chamnarnjak, on behalf of the used tractor traders, said that she had come on Friday to urge the Department of Foreign Trade at the Commerce Ministry to review this order. She said no stakeholder had got a chance to participate in the public hearing process.

“We would like the Commerce Ministry to listen to the opinions of all stakeholders as well as cancel or revise the ministerial order, which prohibits the import of used tractors for agriculture,” she said.

The deputy director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, Wanchai Warawit, met the delegation and received their complaints on Friday. He said the department had also held an urgent meeting on the matter and resolved that the ministry order should be revised, indicating that used tractors have not created any negative impact on the environment. The department is preparing to approach the Cabinet to cancel the ban on the import of used tractors.

“After discussions with related authorities, including the Industry and Agriculture and Cooperatives ministries, we reached the conclusion that as far as environmental and product safety were concerned, the import of used tractors created less pollution as the vehicles are used only in the production season. They are also safe,” said Wanchai. He noted that the meeting had led to mutual agreement about granting an exemption for used tractors from the ministry order.

The total number of new and used tractors deployed in Thailand’s agricultural sector is about 15,000 each year. Many of them are imported from Japan and the prices of used tractors are two times lower than the new ones.

After the cut, its MOR rate will fall to 7.425 per cent and MRR to 7.150 per cent.

After the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana released the government’s long-anticipated stimulus plan at a press conference, explaining that the aim was to inject Bt370 billion in the economy to boost domestic spending and investment.

The package will be broken down into two categories: Bt100 billion will be earmarked for direct government spending, while Bt270 billion will come in the form of loans from state-run banks.

These plans will have to be proposed at the official Cabinet meeting before they can be implemented, the minister said.

In order to boost domestic spending, the government plans to introduce a new round of welfare benefits in August and September for state-welfare card holders, he said. Up to Bt20 billion has been put aside for this scheme, which will also include three major giveaways.

The first freebie is a Bt500 giveaway to all welfare card holders for two consecutive months. The aim for this is to reduce the cost of living and stimulate the Kingdom’s grassroots economy. The total budget for this measure stands at Bt14.6 billion and will reach about 14.6 million people, Uttama said.

The second freebie will target people above the age of 60, who will be given an additional Bt500 for two consecutive months. Around 5 million people will benefit from this policy and the required budget for this measure is Bt5 billion.

Finally, welfare card holders who are helping raise children aged between 0 and 6 will be given Bt300 for two consecutive months. This measure will benefit approximately 800,000 people and will require a budget of Bt500 million.

After these extra measures have been completed, welfare card holders will go back to receiving the usual Bt200 to Bt300 subsidy for cost of living, Bt500 for the elderly and Bt300 for child care from October onwards.

In a move to provide support to farmers affected by the drought, the interest on loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives will be reduced and the debt-repayment period extended from August onwards.

Low-interest loans will also be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new measures will be taken to promote tourism within the country from October onwards.

Uttama said the government is confident that these measures will provide a buffer for the economy and will help achieve a 3 per cent growth in the second half of this year.

“We hope the Security Council discussion will be guided by the statement of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who has voiced concern over the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” said Pakistan’s UN envoy Maleeha Lodhi.

She pointed out that the secretary general had also emphasised the need to resolve this “issue in accordance with applicable Security Council Resolutions and the Charter of the United Nations”. The UNSC resolutions uphold the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination while the UN charter guarantees their basic human rights.

As Ambassador Lodhi noted, last week Mr Guterres also expressed concern about the human rights situation in India-held Kashmir.

Friday’s consultative meeting has been called by China on Pakistan’s request to discuss the prevailing situation in IHK. In the closed door meeting, briefings will be given on the situation and consultations will take place to decide how to proceed further. The meeting may decide to issue a statement or can possibly suggest calling an emergency session of the Security Council.

Yet, this marks the first time in over 50 years that the UN Security Council is holding an exclusive meeting on Kashmir, even though consultative.

“The issue before the Security Council is also about the pain, suffering and plight of over 14 million people who have been now locked up in their own homes,” said Ambassador Lodhi while underlining the need for the UNSC to fulfil its obligations.

Focusing on the plight of the Kashmiri people, she added: “Their state has been dismembered, their liberty stolen so that the Indian government can take away their identity.”

Ambassador Lodhi and her team have been tirelessly working since early this month to sensitise the UN members on how India’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status threatens South Asia’s peace and stability. But the council’s current composition does not seem to favour Pakistan.

Only one of the five permanent members, China, openly favours Pakistan. The remaining four — Britain, France, Russia and the United States — want India and Pakistan to address the Kashmir dispute in a bilateral set-up. While India too favours this position, it refuses to hold any talk on Kashmir, as it calls the Kashmir issue an internal matter.

The 10 non-permanent members — who are elected for a two-year term by the UN General Assembly — are Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Indonesia, Kuwait, Peru, Poland and South Africa. While two of them — Indonesia and Kuwait — have sympathised with Pakistan in the past, it will be difficult to persuade others to back the Chinese request.

It was Poland’s Joanna Wronecka, the current president of the UN Security Council, who disclosed on Wednesday that the council would meet on Aug 16, to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, on China’s request.

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote a letter to Ms Wronecka, urging the council to urgently convene a session on India’s decision to declare Jammu and Kashmir a union territory by revoking of Article 370 of its own constitution.

China had requested a closed meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, citing the letter sent by Mr Qureshi. Upon his return to Pakistan from a visit to China, Mr Qureshi had said that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had assured him of full support at the UNSC.

Ambassador Lodhi, however, said in an interview to Turkey’s TRTchannel that Pakistan had been “getting significant traction from the members of the council.”

When her attention was drawn by BBC News to statements made by some UNSC members on Pakistan’s move, Ambassador Lodhi said, “I am not going to pre-judge what the council members are going to say, but I think they will be guided by the statement of the UN secretary general.

“I think at this point in time the very affirmation or re-affirmation of the council’s resolutions itself is going to nullify the Indian claim that this is an internal matter.”