Ministries agree to buy rubber

BANGKOK, July 15 (TNA) -- Eight ministries and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have agreed to use natural rubber in an attempt to assist growers who are complaining over declining in rubber prices in Thailand, said a spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office. Spokesman Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha was informed by Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry that the eight ministries and the City Hall have agreed to buy and use rubber from now until the end of September this year which marks the end of 2017 government fiscal year. Lt Gen Sansern said rubber they will use include about 22,322 tonnes of rubber latex and 2,953 tonnes of dried rubber. Total value is about 17 billion baht. Gen Prayut has ordered all the nine agencies to speed up on budget disbursement for buying rubber from growers before the end of fiscal 2017, said Lt Gen Sansern. Also, Gen Prayut has closely monitored on a plan to establish a government fund in which the Rubber Authority of Thailand would cooperate with five major local rubber exporters to each invest 200 million baht into the fund, said Lt Gen Sansern. The money will be used in buying rubber in the domestic market, he said. The latest move by the government is seen after prices of rubber latex in the local market fell to between 37-40 baht a kilogramme. Growers have said they could survive if prices did not fell below 70 baht a kilogramme. (TNA)