The government says it has been seriously attempting to solve the problem of low rubber prices using a more sustainable approach than to give subsidies.
In his response to calls by political and rubber grower groups for the government to better deal with the problem, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had said he had never ignored their calls but the government was working towards more sustainable approaches to handle the rubber price problem rather than giving more price subsidies as that always happened any time the rubber prices dropped, said government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd yesterday.
“Each year, the rubber prices went up and down due to several factors. And although the prices in May and June tended to decrease, they still were high when compared to the prices in the same period of last year,” said Lt Gen Sansern.
Among the measures the government has been implementing in a bid to cope with the lower rubber prices are promoting the use of rubber among state organisations, setting up a new business unit under the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAT) to improve flexibility in purchasing rubber and rubber wood from farmers, and finding funds and welfare for rubber farmers, he said.
The government also aims to turn the new business unit into a limited company in the near future, he said.
Furthermore, he said, the government has in cooperation with Indonesia and Malaysia set up a joint venture to create marketing measures to help control rubber prices at certain periods, work together with the world’s leading exporters of rubber and reach an agreement with them to prevent price wars.
Thailand is now speeding up its plan to organise a ministerial meeting of the three countries to discuss further co-operation in tackling the rubber price issues, Lt Gen Sansern said.
And most recently, a new fund has been set up to improve sustainability in the rubber prices, he said, adding that five major business operators and the RAT have put a total of 1.2 billion baht in this fund.
The fund is responsible for purchasing rubber in the overseas futures market and the central market in Thailand in an attempt to maintain rubber price sustainability in the market as well as to strictly enforce the Rubber Control Act, such as by controlling rubber exports and the inspection of rubber stocks, he said.
“The PM has urged these political and rubber grower groups and members of the public to consider changing their mentality and look forward to a more concerted approach to solve the rubber price problem. And they should look beyond the old approach of shifting the burden [caused by low rubber prices] solely to the government,” Lt Gen Sansern said.
Previously, the Democrat Party, which has for a long time dominated election constituencies in the South, the largest rubber-growing area in the country, submitted a letter proposing guidelines on resolving the rubber price problem.
The letter was intended for Gen Prayut and it was submitted through the Office of the Prime Minister.
Democrat deputy leader Nipit Intarasombat urged the government to implement a new market management strategy by announcing the government won’t sell rubber in its stock and keep it only for domestic use, encouraging state organisations to have a role in increasing domestic use of Thai rubber. He also wants to speed up the establishment of a new limited company under the RAT and to work more closely with Malaysia and Indonesia to better regulate rubber production and sales plans of the three countries.
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