BANGKOK, Aug 15 – Democrat MPs from the South have called on the government to urgently solve the problem of declining rubber prices, or rubber planters would stage protests to openly press ahead with their demands.
Thaworn Senneam, Democrat MP from Songkhla, said today that rubber planters have repeatedly asked the government to seriously look into the problem, or they may demonstrate at provincial halls in all rubber-planting provinces onnext Monday.
He said planters have felt the pinch from the falling price of rubber. Ribbed smoked rubber sheets are currently sold at Bt101/kg, third-grade air dried rubber sheets at Bt92/kg, fresh rubber latex at Bt83/kg and pure scrap rubber at Bt70/kg.
Witthaya Kaewparadai, Democrat MP from Nakhon Si Thammarat, said Democrat MPs would join rubber planters’ rallies at provincial halls if they decided to do so.
He dissuaded the government from using forces in dealing with demonstrators and said it would be up to the rubber planters on whether they would protest.
Arkom Engchuan, Democrat MP from Krabi, said the government should process 210,000 tonnes of rubber in its stock to add value to the natural product.
Solutions to declining rubber prices should be made through a tripartite mechanism, a Thai-Malaysian-Indonesian joint venture, in fixing the prices and standard of rubber to avoid price cutting between the three countries, he said.
