Quota limits buy-up; growers say level should be raised.
THE government yesterday launched a programme to buy rubber sheets in the South and in provinces nationwide to shore up sagging domestic prices although efforts have been criticised as lacklustre due to strict conditions imposed on potential sellers.
In the southern province of Krabi, for example, only 12 sellers qualified for the programme, while some said they were disappointed they had to register in advance and were only allowed to sell a maximum of 150 kilograms at Bt45 each.
Thanchanok Paitoon, a Krabi rubber planter, said she brought 300kg of rubber sheets but only half were purchased by the government.
Another seller, Suparb Phummarat, said market prices for rubber sheets remained static because it is difficult to join the programme and the 150kg limit was too low to attract many buyers.
About 1,460kg of rubber sheets were purchased in Krabi under the programme, with only sheets meeting criteria on quality being accepted.
In Surat Thani, Kittisak Viroj, president of a rubber planters’ association in the province, said a letter had been submitted to the government to allow rubber planters who do not have land-ownership documents to register and sell rubber sheets so they could qualify for a state subsidy of Bt1,500 per rai for a maximum of 15 rai (2.4 hectares).
In Phattalung, Nipha Leb-thong, a local rubber planter, said the government should consider increasing the quota from 150kg, which was too small for most planters.
Werathep Chankaew, a local official of the Rubber Authority of Thailand’s Trang office, said the programme had not been well-received by local planters because of its conditions, including requiring plantation owners to come in person to sell the rubber sheets after registering in advance with local authorities.
He said the prevailing market price for latex is currently Bt35-Bt36 per kilogram so the government was offering planters about Bt6 more per kilo.
Under the terms of the programme, the government will buy a total of 100,000 tonnes of rubber sheets to boost the market price at a cost of Bt4.5 billion. Money will be transferred to sellers within two days of the sale via the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the government would use rubber sheets and latex purchased under the programme as raw materials for various products such as rubber gloves, tyres and mattresses. However, Prawit added that strict conditions were needed to ensure that the programme benefited only small planters so that big plantations did not take advantage of taxpayer money. Prawit also ordered agencies under the Defence Ministry to draw up plans to utilise rubber sheets and latex.
Nationwide the government yesterday opened 373 locations in 35 provinces to buy rubber sheets and latex from small planters, including 320 in 13 southern provinces, 13 in four eastern provinces and 10 in 28 northeastern provinces.
