Thai farmers submit demands to caretaker government

BANGKOK, May 17 (TNA) - As paddy prices on the domestic market have kept falling, the Thai Farmers and Agriculturalists Association has submitted a four-point demand to the caretaker government to help shore up the Thai rice prices and urged the caretaker administration and politicians to assist poor farmers. The association's president, Vichian Phuanglamjiak, told reporters on Saturday that paddy prices on the domestic market are now ranged between 4,500–6,500 baht per tonne and Thai farmers are suffering from heavy losses, while several farmers have also not yet received money from their rice sold to the official rice-pledging programme. Vichian said his association wants the caretaker government to quickly pay the money to farmers and to help pay “not less than” 3,000 baht per tonne in subsidy for their factors of production costs. Vichian revealed that his association also wants the caretaker government to continue intervening in the domestic paddy market by buying paddy from farmers to help boost their paddy price to not less than 6,000 baht per tonne. Besides, the association also wants the caretaker government to set up a central paddy market in every province to enable traders to buy paddy directly from local farmers and, finally, to issue a law, designed to offer protection and welfare to farmers urgently. (TNA)