NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, 16 September 2014 – The National Farmers Council has made known that it is prepared to set up Thailand’s first major rubber processing plant in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
The plant is estimated to cost up to 50 million baht in construction. So far, farmer unions have rallied up to 10 million baht in fund and plan to borrow the remaining sum from the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC). The plant is set to be opened in late 2015.
The council and the BAAC together plan to open 9 processing plants across Thailand in a bid to allow farmers to sell their products directly to the market without the middleman.
The move is part of the government’s measures to reverse the fall of rubber prices which in the past have sparked protests and hardship among the country’s growers.
