Farmers demand removal of rubber authority’s board

[webfact]

Farmers demand removal of rubber authority’s board

By KANITA SEETONG 
THE NATION

 

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya, far left, sits with rubber farmers yesterday to address their complaints about falling rubber prices. Farmers complain that prices do not cover production costs.

 

LARGE-SCALE PROTESTS IN BANGKOK AVERTED AFTER ‘ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTS’

REPRESENTATIVES of rubber farmers yesterday demanded that the governor and all board members of the Thai Rubber Authority (TRA) be dismissed over falling rubber prices. 

 

Wreaths were also laid at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in a symbolic protest against the TRA’s leaderships. 

“Their management mistakes have hurt rubber prices,” Utai Sornlaksap, head of the Thai Council of Rubber Farmers Networks, said on behalf of rubber farmers, some of whom accompanied him. 

 

 

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya turned up to accept the letter of protest in person. 

 

He has reportedly agreed to address their demands and more meetings with rubber farmers have been promised. 

 

 

Initially, angry rubber farmers planned to stage large-scale rallies yesterday to demand that relevant authorities pay serious attention to their plight. 

 

Last Friday, Tanomkiat Yingchuanan – an adviser to the network of rubber farmer groups – said rubber farmers from across the country would join the protest over the falling rubber prices. He also openly directed criticism at Chatchai.

 

 

Tanomkiat, however, was taken to an “attitude-adjustment programme” at a military camp over the past weekend, along with other key leaders of rubber-farmer protests. As a result, many farmers cancelled plans to attend the planned rally. 

 

Chayanin Kongsong, a rubber farmer leader in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, said the military had asked for cooperation in not staging protests.

 

“Although I cannot attend the activities in Bangkok, some rubber farmer leaders have turned up at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry as planned,” Tanomkiat said. 

 

After being released from the military camp, Tanomkiat and his supporters had called on Trang Governor Siripat Patkul instead to ask that he forward his letter to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). 

 

The head of the NCPO is Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha. 

 

According to the letter, the TRA should withdraw from the Thai Rubber Joint Venture Co Ltd that it established earlier this year in collaboration with five major rubber firms in the hope of influencing prices in favour of smaller-scale rubber farmers. The joint venture had proven a failure. 

 

“The rubber prices paid by the joint venture cannot shore up the rubber prices in the market,” Tanomkiat said. 

 

The letter also suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives closely monitor whether government agencies have followed government policy to promote the use of Thai rubber farmers’ products, and report their progress to the public. 

 

At the meeting with Tanomkiat, Siripat expressed readiness to allocate Bt1 million to spend on organising forums to listen to farmers’ opinions. 

 

“We will use information in formulating solutions that truly respond to their needs,” Siripat said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30331521

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-14

 

[leeneeds]

Eggs in one basket !

diversify is their only solution, 

run a lottery and cut the suppliers by half, subsidies to the ones who's farms have to be rejigged into farming other produce, to help with transition, training, teaching and a back up system so those who have changed do not flounder, 

is that too hard ? 

What their grandad did and farther did in the day , move on , but do so with some 

Common SENSE.

[stanleycoin]

Everyone wanted a slice of the pie.

No pie left, only a watered down version now.

Cut your trees down and grow some brains instead.

[Get Real]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Farmers complain that prices do not cover production costs.

Oh dear! It´s called an effect of "OVERPRODUCTION"

Guess it´s high time to implement that word in the Thai vocabulary.

[AlQaholic]

International rubber prices control the prices of raw material. Thai rubber industry needs to diversify into various refined rubber products. Almost all producers in Thailand are producing exactly the same product.

[overherebc]

You would think rubber farmers would be more flexible.

[Eric Loh]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

the Thai Rubber Joint Venture Co Ltd that it established earlier this year in collaboration with five major rubber firms in the hope of influencing prices in favour of smaller-scale rubber farmers. The joint venture had proven a failure. 

Does look similar to the rice scheme. Government buying rubber and stocking to influence prices. And it failed too. 

[halloween]

2 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Does look similar to the rice scheme. Government buying rubber and stocking to influence prices. And it failed too. 

Let us know when they hit the B100 billion mark, or if you detect any fake G2G sales or billion baht brokerage commissions paid to 'mates".

[Chris Lawrence]

Maybe suggest to the farmers to go free trade market route, that is they market their own product via a co-operative system. Get rid of the Government busy bodies in the system. It might be hard but with proper funding they may do better than the current system.

 

As Eric said above there are parallels to other systems adopted by other government bodies. 

 

Never forget the Texan brothers that tried to tie up the world silver price. They came a gutsa.

 

One cannot control world markets as there are people out there that bank on people like this to make money out of the schemes. 

 

Leeneeds also made a good point above.

 

Then again Hal is still out there; why does the Government have to hang onto the rubber farmers? Is there some profit to be made?

[halloween]

35 minutes ago, Chris Lawrence said:

Maybe suggest to the farmers to go free trade market route, that is they market their own product via a co-operative system. Get rid of the Government busy bodies in the system. It might be hard but with proper funding they may do better than the current system.

 

As Eric said above there are parallels to other systems adopted by other government bodies. 

 

Never forget the Texan brothers that tried to tie up the world silver price. They came a gutsa.

 

One cannot control world markets as there are people out there that bank on people like this to make money out of the schemes. 

 

Leeneeds also made a good point above.

 

Then again Hal is still out there; why does the Government have to hang onto the rubber farmers? Is there some profit to be made?

The reason that rubber prices are low is that they are competing with synthetic rubber made from oil - as soon as the oil price drops so does the price of rubber. Any day now, our 'green' friends might decide that fossil fuels are used for things other than electricity, and decide to ban synthetic rubber, and plastics, and steel, and.........

[thaiguzzi]

8 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Eggs in one basket !

diversify is their only solution, 

run a lottery and cut the suppliers by half, subsidies to the ones who's farms have to be rejigged into farming other produce, to help with transition, training, teaching and a back up system so those who have changed do not flounder, 

is that too hard ? 

What their grandad did and farther did in the day , move on , but do so with some 

Common SENSE.

 

8 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Everyone wanted a slice of the pie.

No pie left, only a watered down version now.

Cut your trees down and grow some brains instead.

Never been involved in farming have you? Here or back in your motherland.

Things aint that simple as bashing a couple of sentences out on your keyboard....

There's a lot more going on here than expat city dwellers understand.

5 hours ago, Get Real said:

Oh dear! It´s called an effect of "OVERPRODUCTION"

Guess it´s high time to implement that word in the Thai vocabulary.

I would not call an estimated forecast surplus worldwide of 50,000 tonnes overproduction in the grand scheme of things when forecast worldwide production this year is 12,500,000 tonnes. That's 12 and a half million tonnes.

[Get Real]

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

I would not call an estimated forecast surplus worldwide of 50,000 tonnes overproduction in the grand scheme of things when forecast worldwide production this year is 12,500,000 tonnes. That's 12 and a half million tonnes.

Okey! You go for the big picture I can read. You are looking at worldwide total rubber production. I am sure you are right, but your figures does not fit in Thailand. There are many different ways of preparing rubber for sell, as well as it is many different forms of rubber substance in you total calculation.

In Thailand almost all rubber farmer create the same kind of rubber, exactly the same way crated to be used for the same kind of production. That´s where your calculation totally fails. It´s also there an "OVERPRODUCTION" is created.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Get Real

[metisdead]

A post containing an offensive and vulgar comment directed toward another member has been removed. 

[thaiguzzi]

19 hours ago, Get Real said:

Okey! You go for the big picture I can read. You are looking at worldwide total rubber production. I am sure you are right, but your figures does not fit in Thailand. There are many different ways of preparing rubber for sell, as well as it is many different forms of rubber substance in you total calculation.

In Thailand almost all rubber farmer create the same kind of rubber, exactly the same way crated to be used for the same kind of production. That´s where your calculation totally fails. It´s also there an "OVERPRODUCTION" is created.

Incorrect.

In the NW and NE it's mainly cup lump.

In the deep South it's mainly sheet, depending on the weather (rain).

Then there is smoked and unsmoked sheet.

Then there is liquid latex.

Then there is crepe.

And everywhere rubber is tapped in Thailand there will be variations of who is doing what with the above different techniques.

[Get Real]

6 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Incorrect.

In the NW and NE it's mainly cup lump.

In the deep South it's mainly sheet, depending on the weather (rain).

Then there is smoked and unsmoked sheet.

Then there is liquid latex.

Then there is crepe.

And everywhere rubber is tapped in Thailand there will be variations of who is doing what with the above different techniques.

Good! With then knowldge as big as you have, I would actually try to help them.  What are you doing everyday? Watching the beach get dirty?

[thaiguzzi]

22 minutes ago, Get Real said:

Good! With then knowldge as big as you have, I would actually try to help them.  What are you doing everyday? Watching the beach get dirty?

Watching my rubber trees get tapped....

Then I ride my motorcycles. Then I work in my workshop. Then I drink beer.

And what do you watch every day? Mmmm, joined TV Forum 14 months ago, and already 3.5k posts. Understand.

[stanleycoin]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

Good! With then knowldge as big as you have, I would actually try to help them.  What are you doing everyday? Watching the beach get dirty?

Some people are just part of the problem,  but can't see it.

People moan about shops opening next to each other,   selling the same things in Thailand,   killing there business,   but  Falangs do it as well.

I know 4 people over the last 15 years, who  went into rubber plantations with the family or just the wife  in a big way.

it's not been as good for them as they thought for the last few years.

over production in Thailand, i think,   sour grapes,  by the moaners. 

 

Just for fun, chin up 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S94Bh3Qez9o

Edited November 15, 2017 by stanleycoin

[kaorop]

When you get out an about amongst all the plantations you see lots and LOTS of land tied up in rubber....much of the land underneath plantations is devoid of under growth and that has to take a toll with leaching and the need for chemical fertilizers..

[Get Real]

11 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Watching my rubber trees get tapped....

Then I ride my motorcycles. Then I work in my workshop. Then I drink beer.

And what do you watch every day? Mmmm, joined TV Forum 14 months ago, and already 3.5k posts. Understand.

Understand? That is actually something you definately ain´t doing with a comment like that.