The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has instructed the Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Ministry to review a plan to offload 210,000 tonnes of rubber from the government’s stockpiles and to submit a full report on the rubber price stabilization scheme.
An informed source said that General Chatchai Sareekalaya, deputy chief of NCPO in charge of economic affairs, was unhappy with the registration of rubber planters eligible to receive help from the government under the price stabilization scheme.
He reportedly asked the Agricultural Extension Department whether if an addition of six billion baht funding would be enough to cope with the demand of registered rubber growers.
The government of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra set aside 21 billion baht to stabilize rubber prices. Under the price stabilization scheme, a rubber grower will receive 2,520 baht subsidy per rai of up to 25 rai only. Originally 620,000 rubber growers have registered to apply for financial support covering 8.1 million rai of rubber plantations. However, the number of registered rubber growers has soared to 730,000 and the scheme covered an addition of 2.4 million rai of rubber plantations, hence the requirement of an addition of 6 billion baht in subsidy.
A group of rubber growers recently lodged a petition with the NCPO opposing the former government’s plan to sell 210,000 tonnes of rubber from its stockpiles, noting that the sale will further suppress local rubber prices.
NCPO wants plan to offload rubber from government