BANGKOK, Jan 24 – The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Natural Rubber Policy Panel proposal to shore up the price of para rubber to Bt120 per kilogramme, according to Deputy Government Spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard.
He said the Thai rubber price now stands at Bt107/kg. The price previously dropped to its lowest at Bt85/kg at the end of last year due to the global economic downturn, the Japanese tsunami and the Thai flood crisis that caused the suspension of automobile production.
The price reduction was caused by China buying less expensive Indonesian rubber and that investors made profits from selling their rubber contracts.
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) will offer interest-free loans of five billion baht to agricultural institutes including agricultural cooperatives and Bt10 billion to the Rubber Estate Organization, both under the Agriculture and Co-operatives Ministry.
Both organisations will buy rubber from producers for processing and wait for a good timing to sell it at an appropriate price. The government will compensate management costs to the BAAC.
