Thailand rubber growers to rally against dropping prices

protestTHE PRESIDENT of the Para Rubber Growers Co-operative Federation of Thailand has announced a forthcoming mobilisation of rubber growers nationwide to take to the streets in protest for unabated dropping of rubber prices. Exact venue has not yet been disclosed.

Perk Lertwangpong said that a mass rally in Bangkok will be held this month to call the attention of the Government on the rubber price situation.

He said that growers had allowed the authorities enough time to come up with a solution in vain.

According to report, rubber prices recently reached the lowest point in almost two years, with 68.70 baht per kilogramme for third-class raw rubber sheets, and anticipated that it will hit bedrock at 40 baht per kilogramme in no time.

In lieu of the rally, rubber farmers will dump 60,000 tonnes of remaining fertiliser distributed to them this year by the Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund (ORRAF) on the road. Lertwangpong said the fertiliser was of low quality and could almost be considered a fake product. Farmers would explain to the public about the fake product, he said.