Thai govt plans $5.8 bln package to help economy

BANGKOK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Thailand's new government plans to spend 200 billion baht ($5.8 billion) early next year to boost the sagging economy and prop up falling commodities prices, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.

"Our economic measures will come out after our speech to parliament," he told reporters after his first cabinet meeting.

"They will cover all sectors -- agriculture, employment, tourism and business. They are all urgent tasks," he said, without giving details.

Abhisit is due to deliver his maiden speech to parliament on Dec. 29, and is constitutionally barred from revealing details of his policies before then.

"The economic package will be clear in the first or second week of January and requires about 200 billion baht," he told a television station on Monday.

Abhisit, who cobbled together a shaky multi-party coalition after the previous administration was sacked by the courts, has pledged to stick to his predecessors' plans to raise spending for the first of the year by 100 billion baht to stimulate flagging growth.

Thai exports fell sharply in November, their first monthly drop in more than five years, due to a crippling airport blockade and falling demand in the face of a global economic crisis. ($1=34.58 Baht) (Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Ed Cropley)