BANGKOK, Jan 14 (Bernama) — The Thai government has agreed to buy raw rubber sheets from the country’s planters at 45 Baht (RM5.45)per-kilogram, lower than the 60 Baht (RM7.27)per-kilogram price as demanded by their associations before.
Today’s decision, announced by deputy prime minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan would nevertheless help the planters, mostly in the southern provinces, to cope with the plunging rubber prices.
“We agree to buy raw rubber sheet at 45 Baht per-kilogram and the fund will be drawn from the rubber development fund. If it is still not enough, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperative will step in,” he told the media after chairing the Rubber Price Problem Committee meeting Thursday.
He said that under the initiative, the eight participating government’s agencies would buy 100,000 tonnes of the raw rubber sheets from planters and utilise the commodity in their programme.
Despite lower than the 60 Baht per-kilogram of raw rubber sheet as demanded by the planters, the 45 Baht per-kilogram price agreed by the government was better than the current market price of the commodity.
The government’s rubber-buying programme has become a highly-politicised issue in the country, with various sections of the society and political parties giving differing views on the matter.
The price of raw rubber sheet as quoted by the Rubber Authority of Thailand today is 36.05 (RM4.36) per-kilogram, while the price of smoked rubber sheet and rubber latex are at 39.39 Baht (RM4.77) and 33.50 Baht (RM4.06), respectively.
Being one of largest rubber producers in the world, Thailand is expected to produce four million tonnes of the commodity this year, with 14 per cent of the production for domestic usage.
Thailand’s exports of the commodity remained sluggish due to the weakening global economy.
Meanwhile, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikuklya, who was also present during the media conference said that the initiative was expected to begin this month.
— BERNAMA
