Rubber farmers step up pressure as prices plummet

 

Two children of the protesting rubber farmers pose with

a poster at Government House on Oct 14 last year.

They came to Bangkok to urge the government to help

 shore up prices. (Photo by Thanarak Khunton)

Rubber planters have threatened to protest after prices plummeted

to the lowest level in 10 years, saying some of them no longer

 afford to send their children to school.

 Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to stand firm against

 the growers' growing pressure.

 

 Prayut stands firm: No additional help for farmers

 

Raw rubber sheets were 34.05 baht a kg while RSS3 was 34.12

 baht on Thursday, down 0.20 baht and 0.39 respectively in line

with global oil prices.

Other factors affecting the prices are the sluggish Chinese

 economy, as well as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and

 the Korean Peninsula.

Rubber farmers urged the government to provide temporary

relief by guaranteeing a price of not less than 60 baht a kg.

The government last year approved compensation of 1,500 baht

 a rai but the planters said the procedure to apply for it

was complicated.

Yuso Ake, who led a network of farmers in the six lower

southern provinces of Pattani, Yala Narathiwat, Songkhla,

Satun and Phattalung, told Matichon Online on Thursday

 the rubber farmers were on their last legs.

"Some of us no longer have the money to send our children

to school," he claimed. The network has already submitted

 a proposal to the government.

They want the government to set up factories that use rubber

 as a raw material to make products for local use such

as car tyres.

Authorities should also keep rubber prices above cost, which

they claim is 62 baht a kilogramme.

 A group of planters in Trang also threatened on Thursday to

 stage a hunger strike.

 Saksarerk Sriprasart, their representative, urged the removal

 of Agriculture Minister Chatchai Sarikulya.

"When he was commerce minister, he approved palm oil

 imports, resulting in a sharp drop of local prices.

When he became the farm minister, he sold 200,000 tonnes

of rubber to China, resulting in an unexpectedly prolonged price

 slump that lasts until now," he said.

 Mr Saksarerk also urged the government to keep the lid on

consumer goods prices because government officials' salaries

 had already been raised, pushing up the prices of products and

 services.

 His group also wants the government to encourage planters

 to stop tapping trees and to compensate them.

News,Politics,Bangkok Post, 7 January 2016.

 

In my viewpoint there still should be subsidize money to

 the rubber  planters especially for planting new crop in

high growth area.

 

The low rate loan for the rubber planters still important.

 

There should be the factory in the area of high raw rubber production.

 

Sincerely Yours.