The new economic stimulus measures currently under review cover exports, tourism, tax base expansion and agricultural development, as well as soft loans to mitigate the impacts of a stagnant economy, says Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira.
Mr Pichai said yesterday a meeting of the economic stimulus committee would be convened soon to review plans in line with the prime minister's directive to address US President Donald Trump's tariff policies and the recent adjustment of Thailand's economic outlook by Moody's.
He said the government must reconsider how to use the remaining 157 billion baht in the economic stimulus budget, including how to proceed with the digital wallet policy.
In the fiscal sector, Mr Pichai said policymakers need to consider expanding the tax base to increase government revenue, as well as reduce the budget deficit.
In the agricultural sector, projects must be initiated to develop water resources -- both for agriculture and industry -- in addition to considering plans to expand corn cultivation areas, as Thailand needs 4.5 million tonnes of corn annually, a commodity that is also in high demand in China.
"If the US exports less to China, China will face shortages of certain goods, and we must explore opportunities to increase our exports to China," he said.
Mr Pichai said there is a need to cultivate crops to reduce reliance on imports such as wheat.
PTT already signed a contract to purchase 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, with plans to buy an additional 1.2 million tonnes.
He said he was considering pushing forward a bio-power plant project that uses natural raw materials such as Napier grass and corn as fuel. This would not only reduce future LNG imports, but the cost of gas from a bio plant would be around 3.50 baht per unit, slightly lower than LNG.
A byproduct of bio-gas production is fertiliser. For example, using 40,000 tonnes of raw materials to produce bio-gas would yield about 28,000 tonnes of fertiliser byproduct, which could be sold at low prices to farmers, said Mr Pichai.
"We must rely more on the domestic economy and be less dependent on foreign economies," he said.
"The stimulus plan must include soft loans for those affected by a stagnant economy, and the government plans to subsidise interest rates to lower borrowing costs, which will be discussed with financial institutions or the Bank of Thailand."
However, the size of the soft loan package will depend on the severity of the economic impact, which is still uncertain at this stage, said Mr Pichai.