Thai rubber, oil palm farmers continue street protest

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Thailand, August 27 (TNA) - Thai rubber and oil palm farmers who demand that the government boost the prices of their crops have continued blocking a highway and a railway track in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the Thai South, forcing southern train services to be temporarily suspended. A negotiation between representatives of the Thai government and the rubber and oil palm farmers on Monday concluded that the government would guarantee the price of raw sheet rubber at 80 baht per kilogram, latex at 70 baht per kilogram and rubber scrap at 40 baht per kilogram. However, the protesting farmers continued to block a railway crossing on Phad Baan Khuan Ngern Road in the Baan Tul locality of Nakhon Si Thammarat's Cha-uat district on Tuesday morning, affecting four trains, including two Sungai Kolok-Bangkok trains and a Yala-Bangkok train, as well as a train from Butterworth of Malaysia which is stalled at the Hat Yai train station in Songkhla province. As all southern trains could not pass Nakhon Si Thammarat, the Provincial Police Region 8 have mobilized riot police and closely monitored the updated situation. Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Nattawut Saikuar told reporters that the government wants to assist the farmers as demanded, but a global economic slowdown has affected world rubber prices. (TNA)