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As Rice Mountain Shrinks, Thailand Risks Amassing One for Rubber

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  • As Rice Mountain Shrinks, Thailand Risks Amassing One for Rubber

    As Rice Mountain Shrinks, Thailand Risks Amassing One for Rubber
    Supunnabul Suwannakij Jasmine Ng
    April 2, 2015

    A farmer walks past rubber trees as latex collects in a cup at a plantation adjacent to the Thai Hua Rubber Pcl factory in Samnuktong, Rayong province, Thailand.
    Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/BloombergsurplusPolitical Supportcriminal chargesFarmer BackingCurbing Exports

    Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for two-thirds of world production, said in November they would limit exports to tighten supply. The global surplus will narrow to 51,000 tons in 2016 from an estimated 77,000 tons this year, the International Rubber Study Group said in January.

    Prices of ribbed smoked sheet grade 3 in Bangkok, the Thai benchmark, averaged 58.59 baht ($1.80) a kilogram in March compared with 52.79 baht in October. That was lower than rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, which averaged about 12,802 yuan a ton, or 67 baht a kilogram. The contract in Shanghai increased 1.3 percent to 12,755 yuan on Thursday.

    The junta in Thailand is also encouraging farmers to fell aging trees over an area of 400,000 rai (158,000 acres) annually, with some land being turned over to palm oil. That may reduce production by about 100,000 tons a year, according to data from the Office of Agricultural Economics. Output will be 4.3 million tons in 2015, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries estimates.

    Crude Slump
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  • #2
    Thailand Seeks Above Market Price For Rubber From China
    Minggu Simon Lhasa

    BANGKOK, May 11 (Bernama) -- Thailand has asked China to buy 200,000 tonnes of its rubber at a price higher than the current market price and it is being considered by China.

    The move is to encourage a price hike in the future and also help Thai farmers, said Thailand's Commerce Ministry.

    The latest development came after a mission of Thai officials to Kunming, China, for the second bilateral meeting on agricultural products cooperation.

    Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya said Thailand will soon get good news about the sale of rubber and rice under closer cooperation between the two countries.

    Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last year, China is to buy two million tonnes of Thai rice and 200,000 tonnes of rubber, but so far only about 300,000 tonnes of rice have been exported to China under the MoU.

    Chatchai said China will soon sign a contract to buy one million tonnes of new rice crops from Thailand.

    The two countries are expected to finalise the agreement on rice and rubber at an upcoming third meeting in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, in July.

    Officials from SINOCHEM, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, will also visit Thailand next month to negotiate the rubber contract.

    The rice contract will be discussed by Thailand's Foreign Trade Department and China's COFCO.

    bernama.com
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    • #4
      Thai Rubber Farmers Demand Assistance Measures from Military Govt



      Bangkok
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      • #5
        Thai government attempts to shore up rubber prices
        Thursday January 7, 2016


        Rubber farmers shout slogans at their gathering place during protests in Surat Thani, September 4, 2013.
        Reuters pic

        BANGKOK,
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        • #6
          Rubber Prices In Malaysia Higher Than Thailand - RISDA

          PADANG BESAR, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- The Rubber Industry Smallholders' Development Authority (RISDA) denied allegations that rubber prices in Thailand were higher than Malaysia.

          RISDA chairman Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said prices of rubber in Malaysia was higher compared with Thailand.

          He said based on the record from the Thai Rubber Association, the price of scrap rubber in Thailand was 15 Baht or RM1.87 while in Malaysia the price is RM1.90 or three sen higher in contrast to what was highlighted on the social media that price in Malaysia was RM2.20 compared with Thailand's RM4.50 per kilogramme.

          "It is the same with latex. We buy at RM3.50 a kilogramme while Thailand offers 28 Baht or (RM3.39). Therefore, our price is better than Thailand which is lower by 11 sen," he told reporters when commenting on reports in the social media that has gone viral.

          Zahidi was speaking to reporters after distributing Zakat amounting to RM88,000 from RISDA's subsidiaries Espek Plantation and RISDA Baja to 216 recipients from the Padang Besar parliamentary constituency at the Jamek Beseri Mosque, here today.

          bernama.com
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          • #7
            Prayut tones down stance on farmers' rally
            8/01/2016

            One day after threatening legal action against a planned protest by rubber farmers, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha used his weekly TV programme to offer them an olive branch.

            Gen Prayut on Friday called for patience from farmers as he outlined steps his government was taking in an attempt to push up low rubber prices.

            "Please don't pose conflicts. We will do our best to address the issues in the rubber sector," the prime minister said in his Returning Happiness to Thai People broadcast.

            The tone represented a reversal from Thursday when he angrily warned farmers of possible legal consequences if their protest went ahead.

            Rubber growers have said they would rally on Tuesday the office of the Rubber Authority of Thailand in Trang to demand government intervention to shore up plunging prices. They said they would be joined by palm farmers.

            The price of latex rose 50 satang to 29 baht per kilogramme on Friday, while smoked rubber sheet remained unchanged at 32.50 baht, according to the Rubber Authority of Thailand.

            Prices have been declining steadily for the past two years, with occasional rallies. Rubber sheet was trading around 60 baht per kilogramme, which farmers consider their break-even point, in early 2014.

            Gen Prayut reiterated that his administration was not ignoring the farmers' plight but said solutions would take time.

            "Rubber can be used in road construction and sports stadium construction. We have all these plans laid out, but they have to be studied first," he said.

            Pairach Jeoychum, vice-chairman of the Rubber Farmers Cooperatives of Thailand, said on Friday that the group would demand concrete measures o shore up prices and more government attention to the plight of growers at a meeting in Trang.

            "The government must promote more domestic demand for rubber," he said, adding that traders had been favoured in government assistance more than farmers.

            However, farmers do not appear to have a united front ahead of Tuesday's gathering.

            Kittisak Viroj, chairman of the Rubber and Oil Palm Farmers Association in Surat Thani, said on Thursday that his group would go to Trang next week to try to disrupt the protest.

            He said organisers of the rally wanted to press the government to sell rubber now in stock to China, which would further depress prices.

            But Pairote Ruekdee, a farmers' leader in Ban Song in Wieng Sa district in Surat Thani, said on Thursday that his faction would pile more pressure on the government to restore sagging prices as it had failed to solve the problem so far.

            bangkokpost.com
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            • #8
              PM says he will not bow to threats or intimidation
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              • #9
                Thai junta orders ministries to buy rubber from squeezed farmers
                1 hour ago

                BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's junta chief has ordered eight ministries to buy rubber to help struggling farmers, reneging on a vow to end the country's long history of costly agricultural subsidies.

                The kingdom's rubber farmers largely hail from the southern provinces and were a key part of the anti-government protest movement which cheered a May 2014 coup that brought the military to power.

                Global rubber prices have since collapsed and the Thai product currently fetches around 29 baht (S$1.15) per kilogramme, nearly half what it was going for over the summer.

                Farmers are calling on the junta to buy up rubber at 60 baht per kilogramme, something junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha has so far resisted.

                The army toppled the democratically elected administration of Yingluck Shinawatra, in part railing against her family for courting votes among rice farmers in the north and north-east with heavy subsidies.

                General Prayut's military regime has launched a criminal prosecution against Yingluck over one such costly rice scheme - which paid nearly twice the market rate for the crop.

                Yingluck's trial for malfeasance linked to the scheme begins on Friday and could see her jailed for up to 10 years.

                Yet faced with the growing angst of rubber farmers, Gen Prayut has ordered key ministries to dip into their budgets to address the "big problem" of falling prices.

                "Ministries will see how to spend their budgets," on rubber, he told reporters on Monday, adding that each had been tasked with submitting their plans by the end of the day.

                It was not immediately clear how much the efforts to prop up the industry will cost.

                In recent weeks rubber farmers have threatened to launch a wave of protests, in defiance of a current military ban on public demonstrations.

                Protests would either prod a crackdown from the junta on a key support group or leave the military government exposed to accusations of favouritism.

                "Rubber farmers are bleeding, the quick way to help them is to stop the bleeding," Mr Somprat Wutthichan, a spokesman for one of the main southern rubber farmer groups threatening to protest, told AFP.

                Gen Prayut has called on farmers across Thailand to diversify their crops and has warned they can no longer rely on government bailouts when global prices fall.

                After years of impressive growth, Thailand's economy is faltering, mired in high household debt, stuttering exports and low consumer confidence.

                The junta has so far struggled to see through on its promise to kickstart the country's lacklustre growth.

                Earlier this month the World Bank forecast that Thailand's GDP growth rate would slip from 2.5 per cent in 2015 to just 2 per cent this year - by far the gloomiest regional prediction.

                straitstimes.com
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                • #10

                  Tuesday, 12 January 2016


                  Lower demand: Workers trimming smoked rubber sheets at a factory in Thailand.
                  Bloomberg

                  BANGKOK:
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                  • #11

                    Tue, 12/01/2016

                    The Thai military summoned leaders of southern rubber farmers calling for the government to subsidise rubber price for an attitude adjustment while the junta leader said that no such subsidy would be provided.

                    According to Komchadluek News, military officers at 10 am on Monday, 11 January 2015, summoned 50 key leaders of the southern rubber farmers for an attitude adjustment session at Viphavadee Rangsit Military Base in the southern province of Surat Thani.

                    The rubber farmer leaders were summoned ahead of their regional planned gatherings to demand the military government to subsidise the price of rubber at 60 baht per kilogramme (about 1.65 USD), about 26 baht above the current market price of a kilogramme of rubber sheets at Songkhla Market.

                    During the session led by Col Somkiet Ratanacharoenpornchai, the officer urged the rubber farmers not to go on strike to pressure the government, saying that the authorities are currently trying the solve the problem the best they can.

                    The military also invited an expert on rubber at the discussion to explain about the situation of global and regional rubber market to the rubber farmer leaders.

                    The expert advised the rubber farmers to grow additional crops in rubber plantations to diversify their venture.

                    On the same day, Thai News Agency
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                    • #12
                      PM slams Suthep over rubber price
                      Anapat Deechuay,
                      Petchanet Pratruangkrai
                      January 12, 2016



                      Prayut rejects call for govt to intervene in market, vows to use more rubber in roads

                      PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday slammed Suthep Thaugsuban, chairman of People's Democratic Reform Foundation, for calling for a state subsidy to boost the price of natural rubber from Bt33-34 up to Bt60 per kilogram.

                      He also asked Suthep where the government would get the money to fund that subsidy.

                      Suthep yesterday called on |Prayut to invoke absolute power under the interim charter's Article 44 and take quick action on sub-sidising farmers over the falling |price of rubber. He also suggested that the government set a purchase price and determine what products can be produced using natural rubber.

                      However, Prayut rejected Suthep's suggestions, saying the government had decided to look for other measures to help rubber farmers.

                      The premier said Thailand now had 4.1 million tonnes of natural rubber, of which some 1.4 million tonnes were meant for domestic use and the remainder set aside for export. So, he asked where the country would find the money if it was to subsidise the farmers.

                      The premier went on to say that blaming the government for the state of the economy was not fair, as it has been working hard to drive the economy.

                      "I'm solving issues and coming up with measures to cushion potential risks in the future, be it in relation to rice or rubber," he said.

                      He added that the government has come up with a procedure under which it will buy rubber from farmers at a price slightly higher than the market price. This rubber is then supplied to small-and-medium enterprises so they can use it as an ingredient for road construction material.

                      "I don't want to say it is not value for money. Let people be the judge," the premier said.

                      Prayut added that the government has already used 5 per cent of the rubber in material used in 37 roads and is considering the use up to 10 per cent in the future.

                      "However, we should come up with new products made of rubber, apart from just rubber latex, for the export market," Prayut said. adding that the government purchase price might come out this week.

                      Suthep, meanwhile, warned farmers not to expect too much as all proposals were coming during a slowdown in the economy. However, he said, farmers could ponder whether they should protest against the government on the falling price of rubber.

                      "I believe that the government already heard what the rubber farmers want," Suthep said, adding that he has already offered measures to deal with the falling rubber prices to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.

                      When asked if he would lead the protest if there was one, Suthep said he was not sure.

                      Separately, 50 leaders of rubber farmers in Surat Thani were yesterday summoned for attitude adjustment, as one of the leaders planned to submit a letter to Muang Trang Police Station for permission to hold a meeting today to resolve the low price problem. Leaders of rubber farmers' networks from at least 10 provinces in the South will attend the meeting.

                      The network leaders insisted that this was not a protest or related to politics.

                      Rubber farmers have been calling on the government to take several measures, including setting the purchase price at Bt60 per kilogram, announce that 360,000 tonnes of rubber in the state's stock is "dead stock" and exercise absolute power to boost domestic consumption of rubber.

                      Education Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan said yesterday up to 30,000 schools require rubber for the construction of sports fields, adding that the investment should be about Bt500 million.

                      Under the government's plan to resolve the falling price of rubber, Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said her ministry would invite rubber importers from different countries, including Russia, to meet rubber traders in Thailand to encourage exports.

                      She said that once rubber |traders are able to match buyers' demands, Thailand should be able to release rubber stocks and drive up the price.

                      Despite the falling price of rubber, it is still Thailand's biggest agricultural export product, with shipment volumes reaching 3.33 million tonnes or worth US$4.68 billion in the first 11 months last year. Rubber accounts for 2.4 per cent o f the country's total shipment value.

                      In 2014, 3.4 million tonnes of |rubber worth $6.02 billion were exported.

                      nationmultimedia.com
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                      • #13
                        every thing old is new again

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                        • #14
                          Speed up purchase of rubber, PM orders
                          July 16, 2017



                          PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed government agencies to expedite their purchase of natural rubber in the local market as part of a bid to boost domestic demand and help prop up falling prices, a government spokesman said yesterday.
                          http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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                          • #15
                            After reading above far from understanding how forcing gov agencies to buy local rubber will increase rubber prices. All seems a bit fishy to me.
                            Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

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