THAILAND – The Cabinet has green-lighted a special project to prop up local rubber price.
Deputy government spokesman Anusorn Eiamsaard said that, at its weekly meeting, the Cabinet has resolved to approve a rubber-price support measure, as proposed by the Natural Rubber Policy Commission.
Under the approved scheme, the state-run Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) will prepare a THB15 billion pool of fund to lend to farmers’ groups or the Rubber Estate Organization farmers without charging interest, in order to enable them to buy up processed rubber from farmers.
The price that the Cabinet agreed is THB120/kl, compared with THB107/kl at present.
In executing the plan, the BAAC will use its own cash first before the government transfers THB5 billion from the rice-pledging scheme and THB10 billion, originally earmarked to support the Rubber Estate Organization, to replenish the bank’s fund later.
Source: National News Bureau of Thailand