Bt4 - Bt6 Per Kilo For Durian

[Mid]

Farmers dump mangosteens on road to protest fruit's price

July 30, 2007 : Last updated 06:36 pm

Some 300 fruit farmers in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Monday dumped one tonne of mangosteens in front of the City Hall to protest at the fruit's price of Bt3 per kilogram, which is the lowest in many years.

The frustrated farmers called on the government to buy the fruit from them at reasonable prices.

Former senator Pichai Boonyakiet said fruit farmers in ten districts had suffered as a result of middlemen purchasing produce from them at very low prices, paying only Bt3 per kilo for mangosteens, Bt3Bt4 per kilo for rambutans, and Bt4Bt6 per kilo for durian.

nationmultimedia.com

durian 35B / Kg @ mkt

Edited July 30, 2007 by Mid

[joeuk1]

Farmers dump mangosteens on road to protest fruit's price

July 30, 2007 : Last updated 06:36 pm

Some 300 fruit farmers in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Monday dumped one tonne of mangosteens in front of the City Hall to protest at the fruit's price of Bt3 per kilogram, which is the lowest in many years.

The frustrated farmers called on the government to buy the fruit from them at reasonable prices.

Former senator Pichai Boonyakiet said fruit farmers in ten districts had suffered as a result of middlemen purchasing produce from them at very low prices, paying only Bt3 per kilo for mangosteens, Bt3Bt4 per kilo for rambutans, and Bt4Bt6 per kilo for durian.

nationmultimedia.com

durian 35B / Kg @ mkt

I have to feel sorry for these guys they put all the work in and get shafted at the end of it , i heard the same story with pineapple growers last year they were being slaughtered on the price and it was a case of sell at a terrible price or let the fruit rot . Some growers dug there heels in and did destroy a lot of fruit i dont think it did them much good .

JB

[chownah]

I have to feel sorry for these guys they put all the work in and get shafted at the end of it

These guys are growing stuff that's not worth as much as they thought it would be worth when they put in the trees...oooops....that's farming for you. They are not getting shafted....no one owes these farmers a certain price for their produce...there were no contracts...there were no guarantees from the gov't. If they don't want to sell to middle men then they should market their produce themselves...start a farming coop....stop whining. The same thing has happened with almost all fruit as near as I can tell. When I first came to Thailand about ten years ago the prices for alot of fruits was way way high considering the cost of other food stuffs and the fact that their was alot of land suitable for growing the fruit.....farmers saw this too and started planting trees....the price of fruit has pretty much steadily dropped over the last ten years and especially in the last three years or so....any farmer that couldn't see this coming has her head in the sand.....of course you can't blame them for trying to get a pile of money from the gov't...if there are some well connected fruit growers they just might pull off a big coup but any bail out would most likley get structured so that mostly the big well connected growers get a bundle and the small fry somehow just don't meet the criteria.

[Mid]

They are not getting shafted

tough call to argue market forces at work given the retail price .

whilst I do agree that nobody owes them a living ,

however if they are up against a buying cartel .............................

[joeuk1]

<br />

I have to feel sorry for these guys they put all the work in and get shafted at the end of it

<br />These guys are growing stuff that's not worth as much as they thought it would be worth when they put in the trees...oooops....that's farming for you. They are not getting shafted....no one owes these farmers a certain price for their produce...there were no contracts...there were no guarantees from the gov't. If they don't want to sell to middle men then they should market their produce themselves...start a farming coop....stop whining. The same thing has happened with almost all fruit as near as I can tell. When I first came to Thailand about ten years ago the prices for alot of fruits was way way high considering the cost of other food stuffs and the fact that their was alot of land suitable for growing the fruit.....farmers saw this too and started planting trees....the price of fruit has pretty much steadily dropped over the last ten years and especially in the last three years or so....any farmer that couldn't see this coming has her head in the sand.....of course you can't blame them for trying to get a pile of money from the gov't...if there are some well connected fruit growers they just might pull off a big coup but any bail out would most likley get structured so that mostly the big well connected growers get a bundle and the small fry somehow just don't meet the criteria.<br />

<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Well lets hope whatever you produce its not decided that its near worthless even if it has good retail value ( thats if you do produce anything ) .<br /><br />Or even maybe that the growers- farmers throw the towel in and produce prices go through the roof because the retailers will pass on any extra cost to the consumers . <br /><br />Hey pineapples were making 1 baht each last year as the buyers got the sellers by the balls maybe you would like them in short supply and you can pay uk prices of 2 pounds 130 baht each <br /><br />JB Edited July 30, 2007 by joeuk1

[chownah]

Hey pineapples were making 1 baht each last year as the buyers got the sellers by the balls maybe you would like them in short supply and you can pay uk prices of 2 pounds 130 baht each

I happen to have a friend who was a pineapple buyer. He didn't have anybody by the balls. He did have a pickup truck and he would buy a load of pineapple at the fields and take it south and sell it at markets. He stopped doing it this year...I haven't seen him to ask why he stopped....it probably has to do with low prices since if he was making alot of money I don't imagine he would have quit doing it.

If there are alot of pineapples then the price goes down....simple supply and demand...has nothing to do with having someone by the balls.

This happens in Thai agriculture all the time: the price of pigs for slaughter goes up to 45 baht per kilo.....every small time farmer in Thailand starts growing pigs (there are little house all over Thailand that now sit empty but can accomodate anywhere from two to twenty pigs) and soon there is an oversupply of pigs and the price goes down to 35 baht per kilo for live pigs......this kind of thing happens all the time in Thailand.....allmost 50% of the people in Thailand are farmers and they are all looking for something to grow to make the big baht....any idea with large profit potential gets adopted by way too many farmers and the profit margin gets cut to the bone...or more. That's why alot of farmers do mostly rice because the price goes up and down but the demand is always there to support a reasonable return....you will never see farmers dumping rice in protest.

[btate]

There are several factors in buying/selling fruit, listed in my perceived order of importance:

Species is by far the most important, there are two specie of durian grown for production here in Thailand.

Grade is the next most important. BiL sold his #1 grade for 26 baht per kilo a month ago.

Time in season, the earlier in the season you can harvest the higher the price. Early producers can make substantial profit.

Middlemen, most are thugs that take advantage of every little thing as most Plot farmers ( up to 10 rai) don't have enough product to command pricing. The BiL deals only with a buyer at Talat Thai - the major fresh produce market in Bangkok - for major shipments such as Durian or Mangosteen. Smaller shipments are sold to local consolidators NOT the roadside pick-trucks you see everywhere. Length of time dealing with the same buyer, year after year, proves beneficial as they know the quality you produce.

A real life experience from a couple of months ago (early April). BiL sold the first mangosteen for 59 baht/K, a week later it was 38/K, two weeks later it was 9/K. The first sale was for #1 graded, once the bulk harvest started there is no longer a grading system as there is just toooooooo much fruit to deal with on an individual sorting basis. I've seen probably about 15,000 tons of mangosteen go by my front door, just to give you and idea of the volume and I live outside a small village on a road that goes nowhere. In the village there was a 40 foot container that left every morning for Bangkok for over two months. All of it mangosteen.

According to government statistics the breakeven point for mangosteen is 11 or 12 baht per kilo. Just like everything else in Thailand, once someone makes some cash in a venture, a neighbor will open/start the same business. The idea is that "if he can make money I can too." Great logic but sooner or later supply outstrips demand. How many times have you seen 3, 4, 5 little stores on a soi that is no longer than 100 meters?

Early adopters/harvesters will make money. Somchai come later will lose his shirt.

Bt

[ozzydom]

I have to feel sorry for these guys they put all the work in and get shafted at the end of it

These guys are growing stuff that's not worth as much as they thought it would be worth when they put in the trees...oooops....that's farming for you. They are not getting shafted....no one owes these farmers a certain price for their produce...there were no contracts...there were no guarantees from the gov't. If they don't want to sell to middle men then they should market their produce themselves...start a farming coop....stop whining. The same thing has happened with almost all fruit as near as I can tell. When I first came to Thailand about ten years ago the prices for alot of fruits was way way high considering the cost of other food stuffs and the fact that their was alot of land suitable for growing the fruit.....farmers saw this too and started planting trees....the price of fruit has pretty much steadily dropped over the last ten years and especially in the last three years or so....any farmer that couldn't see this coming has her head in the sand.....of course you can't blame them for trying to get a pile of money from the gov't...if there are some well connected fruit growers they just might pull off a big coup but any bail out would most likley get structured so that mostly the big well connected growers get a bundle and the small fry somehow just don't meet the criteria.

Chownah hit the nail on the head,most western countries have marketting authorities and statutary bodies charged with the orderly marketting and price maintenance of farm commodities,ie. The Australian Wheat board ,Apple and Pear Board,The Berry and Small Fruits Board,The Egg Marketing Authorities.

These bodies responsibilities is to ensure an ample supply of the commodity to the public and to ensure a minimum fair return to the grower,these authorities are funded by levees on the crops and underwritten by Government funds.

Thailand has a lot of evolving to do before it would be ready to go down this path,the Longon farce is an indication of what can happen if honesty does not prevail.

The other alternative ,as chownah mentioned are Co-op,s ,whether the people exist in the agricultural industries with drive to gel the growers in the particular industries together is another matter,the old union slogan,"Strength in Unity " springs to mind.

[btate]

""The other alternative ,as chownah mentioned are Co-op,s ,whether the people exist in the agricultural industries with drive to gel the growers in the particular industries together is another matter,the old union slogan,"Strength in Unity " springs to mind.""

It is odd there is not more co-ops, the idea of the co-op is functioning here. For example the rubber co-op here in Makham is quite robust, even acts as a bank for growers. There is also a quasi co-op run for some mangosteen production with all the product shipped o'seas to China and Taiwan.

Yes, they do take a very small 'cut' off the top and this may be the reason most small holders opt for other avenues of sales. Maximizing cash input leads some of these folks to make questionable decisions me thinks. A quick baht here rather than a dependable source over the years. Add in a questionable 'buyer' with the same motivations and you have the recipe for a mess.

Bt

[ozzydom]

""The other alternative ,as chownah mentioned are Co-op,s ,whether the people exist in the agricultural industries with drive to gel the growers in the particular industries together is another matter,the old union slogan,"Strength in Unity " springs to mind.""

It is odd there is not more co-ops, the idea of the co-op is functioning here. For example the rubber co-op here in Makham is quite robust, even acts as a bank for growers. There is also a quasi co-op run for some mangosteen production with all the product shipped o'seas to China and Taiwan.

Yes, they do take a very small 'cut' off the top and this may be the reason most small holders opt for other avenues of sales. Maximizing cash input leads some of these folks to make questionable decisions me thinks. A quick baht here rather than a dependable source over the years. Add in a questionable 'buyer' with the same motivations and you have the recipe for a mess.

Bt

Too true Bt, Co-ops must rely on the willingness and honesty of ALL its members to make it work whereas Marketing Authorities have legislation to back them up,a choice between the carrot and the stick.

Authorities are usually set up at the request of the particular industry when it is in dire straights and supply of the commodity to the public are threatened as well as low profitability to the grower.

Reasonable prices at reasonable profit margins is the aim and oversupply which creates "dumping" prices is the big hurdle to overcome.

Marketing Authorities also investigate alternate uses for the commodity ,whether it be processing,as in the case in point ,into jams,juice etc.

Even western countries have many problems in the agricultural field because of world trade laws,the flooding of western markets with orange concentrate by South America is an example,it almost broke the Australian orange industry.

America gets around it with huge tariffs,subsidies and product embargoes.

ozzy

[btate]

Ozzy

I don't disagree with the concept of Marketing Authorities. Would be great if implemented here. I don't see it happening as too many of the power brokers would be hoisted on their own petard STS.

I do think there is a partial solution for the interim. The Thai gov't could set up a commodities index. It is easily done from a gov't perspective If

they would collect the "end of day" pricing for wholesale produce, meat etc, from several large wholesale markets from throughout the country.

This could be 'published' via newspapers or the morning news (village head man speeches via loudspeakers). This would provide two benefits: giving the local producer some leverage with middlemen; providing insight to potential over production/dumping and any other shenanigans in the "fresh" market system.

I've noted elsewhere that 50% of the Thai population is involved in agriculture which provides (a dwindling) 10% of GNP.

As with any 'change' in the Thai system it would take major pain by some of the power brokers and some major face losing.

E. G.

[Mid]

This could be 'published' via newspapers or the morning news (village head man speeches via loudspeakers). This would provide two benefits: giving the local producer some leverage with middlemen; providing insight to potential over production/dumping and any other shenanigans in the "fresh" market system.

good idea ......