Weekend Cabinet meeting greenlights Bt130bn oil price relief package

The Cabinet, at a special meeting today, approved a package of measures to cushion the impact of rising oil prices across multiple sectors of Thai society, including low-income groups, SMEs and the agricultural sector.

The measures also target public transport operators and contractors bound by state contracts, as well as individuals seeking to switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs or install rooftop solar panels to reduce electricity costs.

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said after the meeting that the total aid package is expected to cost more than 130 billion baht, with funding partly channelled through the Government Savings Bank (GSB), the Government Housing Bank (GHB) and the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

The package includes additional support for 13.2 million low-income people and state welfare card holders, who will receive an extra 100 baht on top of their regular 300 baht per month benefit from April 13 to May 12.

To promote a shift to clean energy, the GSB will allocate 5 billion baht in soft loans for the purchase of EVs and electric motorcycles, with a maximum loan of 2 million baht at a special interest rate. Applications will be open until March 31, 2027.

The GHB will offer loans to homeowners to install rooftop solar panels at an interest rate of 2.2%, with repayment periods of up to 40 years. Applications are open until the end of this month.

For new homebuyers, soft loans of up to 300,000 baht will be available for rooftop solar installation, with an interest rate of 2.69% for the first two years and repayment periods of up to 40 years. Applications will remain open until December 30, 2026.

The BAAC will allocate 30 billion baht in loans to help farmers purchase fertiliser and improve productivity. Loans of up to 100,000 baht will be available for 12 months at a 6% interest rate, with half of the interest subsidised by the government for farmers with good credit records.

The Finance Ministry and the GSB will also set aside 100 billion baht in soft loans for SMEs transitioning to environmentally friendly or digital technologies.

For public transport operators, including trucks, buses, passenger vans, taxis and motorcycle taxis, the government will allocate 2.061 billion baht to subsidise fuel costs from April 20 to May 31.

Of this amount, 1.3 billion baht is earmarked for trucks, 97 million baht for motorcycle taxis, 81 million baht for buses and minibuses, 8 million baht for taxis, 311 million baht for non-scheduled buses, and 200 million baht for the Transport Company’s bus fleet during the Songkran period from April 6 to April 19, aimed at preventing fare increases during the holiday.