SONGKHLA, Aug 20 – Thailand’s rubber growers network from 14 southern provinces converged on Songkhla provincial hall on Monday afternoon to press the government for help to shore up falling natural rubber prices.
Police were deployed to ensure law and order around the provincial hall while the growers gathered to demand government intervention on falling rubber prices.
Growers said they have asked for government help many times since January but until now there has been no progress.
They said the raw rubber sheet price has fallen to Bt70 per kilogramme, and they wanted to see the price stay at Bt120 per kilogramme.
The network used a truck with loud speakers as their makeshift stage to attack government measures to resolve the price problem.
They planned to submit a letter to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asking her to issue meaningful actions to help the growers and remove those who have caused the problem.
Meanwhile, in Ranong, some 100 rubber growers gathered at the Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund (ORRAF) to demand its urgent coordination with agencies concerned to deal with the falling rubber price problem.
The group threatened to carry their protest to Bangkok to demand the government shore up the rubber price to at least Bt120 per kilogramme.
