Thai government approves 93b baht in soft loans to help farmers

Bangkok

THAILAND'S military-led government on Tuesday approved soft loans totalling 93 billion baht (S$3.7 billion) to help farmers who have been hit hard by falling commodity prices and drought. Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong told reporters that the loans would total 87 billion baht.

Rural Thailand accounts for half of the population and has been in recession for over a year, adding to the problems that the junta is facing in reviving South-east Asia's second largest economy as exports and domestic demand remain weak.