Traders, farmers seek exemption from ban for import of used tractors

[rooster59]

Traders, farmers seek exemption from ban for import of used tractors

By THE NATION

 

 

Traders and farmers on Friday called on the Commerce Ministry to revoke a ministerial order that prohibits the import of used tractors, which will seriously impact cost of production.

 

More than 100 used-tractor traders and farmers gathered in front of the Commerce Ministry on Friday morning, asking the authority to exempt tractors from the ministerial order that proposes a ban on the import of all used vehicles into the Kingdom. The order, which will take effect on December 10, will also prohibit the import of used tractors for any agricultural purposes.

 

They argued that the order would seriously impact more than 500,000 farmers and not less than 40 traders of used tractors throughout the country, who have been impacted and may have to shut down their business.

 

Boonchuay Sridech, a sugarcane farmer in Nakhon Sawan province, said that if the commerce minister still insisted on enforcing the order, individual farmers would be burdened by higher production cost.

 

Patcharin Chamnarnjak, on behalf of the used tractor traders, said that she had come on Friday to urge the Department of Foreign Trade at the Commerce Ministry to review this order. She said no stakeholder had got a chance to participate in the public hearing process.

 

"We would like the Commerce Ministry to listen to the opinions of all stakeholders as well as cancel or revise the ministerial order, which prohibits the import of used tractors for agriculture," she said.

 

The deputy director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, Wanchai Warawit, met the delegation and received their complaints on Friday. He said the department had also held an urgent meeting on the matter and resolved that the ministry order should be revised, indicating that used tractors have not created any negative impact on the environment. The department is preparing to approach the Cabinet to cancel the ban on the import of used tractors.

 

“After discussions with related authorities, including the Industry and Agriculture and Cooperatives ministries, we reached the conclusion that as far as environmental and product safety were concerned, the import of used tractors created less pollution as the vehicles are used only in the production season. They are also safe," said Wanchai. He noted that the meeting had led to mutual agreement about granting an exemption for used tractors from the ministry order.

 

The total number of new and used tractors deployed in Thailand's agricultural sector is about 15,000 each year. Many of them are imported from Japan and the prices of used tractors are two times lower than the new ones.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30374897

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-17

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[canuckamuck]

I didn't know they even made tractors here. I though they were all imported. is the selection of Thai made tractors adequate?

[keith101]

8 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

I didn't know they even made tractors here. I though they were all imported. is the selection of Thai made tractors adequate?

I would imagine they are made like most locally built , cheap and don't last very long before breaking down which is why most are imported .

[bluesofa]

11 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

I didn't know they even made tractors here. I though they were all imported. is the selection of Thai made tractors adequate?

Kubota is the best-known Thai made tractor, although it's very small and I think limited, compared to western type tractors. Perhaps Thai farmers have realised there's a better option now?

[IsaanAussie]

Both Kubota and Yanmar have production facilities here. The extent of component manufacture (localisation) here is unknown to be but I do know at least one major supplier of cast and forged parts to Kubota. Note: It only concerns used gear so the imported brands are not effected on new product. 

I think the ban is general on the vehicle HS code which I think is HS84, they could drop that section that covers tractors quite easily.

To be honest I don't think is is such a bad idea. There is some rubbish that comes in, the engine gets a "kerosene" rebuild and the body work a coat of paint. Most are well past their useful life. 

[RichardColeman]

Maybe Thais want something built outside of thailand due to Thai quality issues , even if its 2nd hand !

[hotchilli]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Many of them are imported from Japan and the prices of used tractors are two times lower than the new ones.

Does that mean half price ?