BANGKOK, Aug 23 — A subcommittee tasked with drafting a strategy for four agricultural products will complete a draft within two weeks from now, said Chavalit Chookajorn, permanent secretary for the Agriculture and Cooperatives ministry, on Saturday.
His comments were made after the subcommittee held a meeting, chaired by Gen Chatchai Sarikalaya, National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) deputy chief on economic affairs.
The strategic plan for four agricultural products – namely corn, tapioca, palm oil and sugarcane – is aimed at improving their quality and simultaneously assisting their production and export.
Mr Chavalit, who is also the subcommittee chief, said more research should be conducted in the agricultural sector to help growers and exporters on a sustainable basis.
On Friday, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of the NCPO and also army chief, said during his weekly televised address that he was informed that many rubber growers are planning to ask for assistance from NCPO as rubber prices have fallen sharply.
Gen Prayuth said the NCPO would try to prevent rubber prices from falling below Bt50 per kilogramme and one of the measures proposed to resolve the problem is to ask private firms receiving promotion privileges from the state-run Board of Investment and manufacturing rubber products to raise raw rubber prices and to also increase their utilization.
Gen Prayuth said growers should also consider switching to growing other crops.
Gen Prayuth said he was informed that a Chinese firm named the China Oversea Investment Service Ltd was interested in buying between 20,000 – 30,000 tonnes of tapioca per month from Thailand over a one-year period.
Relevant officials are studying whether a sale and purchase contract could be signed, he added.
