Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has come under fire from opposition parties and critics for his recent suggestion that rice farmers should cultivate bananas for export to Japan, which would fetch higher prices than grain.


Pol Lt-Gen Piya Tavichai, spokesman for the opposition Palang Pracharath party, said today that Pichai’s suggestion reflects the minister’s lack of vision and understanding of the rice farmers’ problems.


Farmers are complaining that the price of the second-crop harvests has fallen to about 8,000 baht/tonne, from about 10,000 baht/tonne, which is lower than their production costs.


Piya said that the government’s program to help rice farmers, by giving each farming household 1,000 baht per 0.16 hectares, up to a maximum of 1.6 hectares, is insufficient to cover their production costs. He suggested that the subsidy should be increased to 20,000 baht to cover 3.2 hectares per household, as implemented by the Prayut administration.


He accused the commerce minister of confining himself to the air-conditioned comfort of his office and never actually experiencing the farmers’ way of life. Paddy fields, he said, are usually flooded, making them unsuitable for the cultivation of bananas, and it takes more than a year for banana plants to bear fruit.


“So, what will farmers eat while they are waiting for the banana plants to bear fruit?” he asked.


Piya said the government should develop high-yield rice species and use technology to increase productivity, so farmers can increase their output while reducing their production costs, so Thai rice will be more competitive on the global market.


Meanwhile, Thai Pakdee Party Chairman Warong Dechgitvigrom asked the commerce minister why farmers are selling their crops at lower prices this year, while the price of milled rice is steadily increasing on the domestic market.


“This mismatch shows that there is something wrong with the rice (production) mechanism,” said Warong, as he asked who is profiting from the price difference.

Commerce minister under fire for suggesting rice farmers to