A worker uses a tractor to spread rice grains at a mill in Suphan Buri province, about 105 km miles north of Bangkok October 5, 2012.

A man sweeps at a rice mill in Suphan Buri province. Thailand's government expects losses of about 80 billion baht ($2.6 billion) from its rice intervention scheme as of September 2012, the commerce minister said on Tuesday, a cost that may increase pressure on the state to scale back the program.

A worker packs rice at a mill in Suphan Buri province, about 105 km, north of Bangkok October 5, 2012. Under the scheme, the government would continue to pay farmers at 15,000 baht per tonne for white rice paddy.

A farmer works in her rice field in Bangkok.

A worker inspects milled rice at a mill in Suphan Buri province. Traders and exporters were not surprised, saying the government had vowed to continue with the policy, no matter how much it could cost.

A man shovels rice grains at a mill in Suphan Buri province. Thailand exported 4.3 million tonnes of rice so far this year, down 46 percent from the same period of last year, because the intervention scheme pushed Thai prices to uncompetitive levels versus rice from Vietnam and India.

A worker carries a bag of milled rice at a mill in Suphan Buri province, about 105 km miles north of Bangkok. The Agriculture Ministry has forecast that Thailand could produce 25.9 million tonnes of paddy in the main crop, slightly higher than the previous forecast of 24.0 million tonnes as the high intervention price has encouraged farmers to grow more.

A worker uses a tractor to spread rice grains at a mill in Suphan Buri province, around 105 km north of Bangkok October 5, 2012. The Thai Rice Exporters Association forecasts full-year exports will reach no more than 6.5 million tonnes.