BANGKOK:-Rubber planters in 14 southern provinces have threatened to rally to demand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha to invoke Section 44 of the interim charter to prop up rubber price.
Mr Pairat Jaichum, vice president of a network of rubber planters in 14 southern provinces, said Saturday that the network would a meeting of rubber plants from across the country in the next two weeks to demand real actions from the government to help shore up rubber price which, he said, has dropped to a critical level of about 30 baht/kg in some areas.
He said rubber plants wanted the government to subsidise rubber price at 65 baht/kg and to force the Transport Ministry to increase of the use of raw rubber to pave roads and also to devise measures to increase rubber products so as to add value to raw rubber.
He warned that rubber planters are in deep trouble and they no longer are afraid of the military junta.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will hold a meeting of agencies concerned to discuss rubber price problem and how to shore up its price on Monday.
He, however, made clear that there would be no subsidy for the planters as that might go against the WTO regulation.
