Govt refuses to buy farmer's rubber at above market prices, elections and Greek debt dangers & rejected rice safe, FDA insists.
Govt refuses to buy farmer's rubber at above market prices, elections and Greek debt dangers & rejected rice safe, FDA insists.
Latex being collected from a tapped rubber tree (Source: Wikipedia)
AGRICULTURE
Govt rejects farmers' demands
Refuses to buy rubber for B120/kg
26/08/2013
The government has declared it will not buy rubber latex at a price of 120 baht a kilogramme, as demanded by farmers, a price well above the market price at 71-72 baht/kg.
The farmers' demands will only add to the burden of stock management, and would fail to provide a long-term solution, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Yukol Limlaemthong insisted yesterday.
The government had spent more than 22 billion baht buying rubber from farmers and stockpiled up to 200,000 tonnes. Selling rubber from state warehouses will only reduce prices further.
Hundreds of farmers in Nakhon Si Thammarat rallied for a third day, demanding the government support prices at the higher level and blocking a section of a highway and clashed with police on Friday after officers tried to disperse their roadblock, with 43 people injured. Farmers threaten to block more roads if their demands are not met.
Democrat Party MPs in the South, a party stronghold, said the government should talk to the farmers, and buying rubber at 84 baht/kg would be acceptable (based on the total cost of 64 baht/kg plus profit) and reject the accusation that the party is behind the rally.
In breaking news, rubber in Tokyo was set to enter a bull market as futures jumped to a three-month high on signs China's economy is regaining strength, boosting demand for rubber which is used in tyres.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned a Greek debt write-down (or haircut) could spark a "domino effect of uncertainty" and scare off investors in the eurozone.
Merkel faces elections for a third term on September 22 and the issue of Greece could prove contentious as German taxpayers feel they have already paid for the lion's share of European bailouts.
Two aid programmes in 2012 and 2014 from eurozone allies and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have given Greece a lifeline since the financial crisis began.
Heavily indebted Greece has received two international bailouts in exchange for reforms including major public sector cuts in jobs, pay and pensions.
The shipment of 32,000kg of rice was rejected by a US importer on Aug 8 and was sent back to Thailand.
The buyer was reportedly unsatisfied with the rice, which was said to have a foul smell.
The FDA confiscated the rice shipment and conducted tests for possible contamination by toxic chemicals such as aflatoxins and phosphine.
Phosphine is used to fumigate rice to ward off insects and the results showed that the rice shipment was free of toxic contamination.
The rejection of the shipment triggered a fresh round of concerns over the quality of Thai rice but extensive testing eventually showed Thai rice to be within safety limits.
