Thailand to sell government rubber stockpile
ERJ staff report (TP)
Bangkok – The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry will sell 220,000 tonnes of stockpiled rubber as soon as possible, ahead of the new harvest season, to avoid further long-term losses, reported The Bangkok Post last week.
The cabinet had assigned the Rubber Estate Organisation to manage the stockpile to ensure there was no drain on the government budget.
A panel had been appointed to manage the stock and would decide how to release the rubber onto the market, whether for domestic processing or for export, agriculture minister Yukol Limlaemthong said.
As there is no rubber output in the market at this time, it is necessary for the government to release the stockpile as soon as possible, before the new harvest season starts later this month.
Although the rubber price was still on a downward trend – the stockpile would deteriorate if kept too long and this would affect the market price. Meanwhile, it was costing around 20m baht (€445,800) a month to store the stockpile.
Boonsong Nubthong, president of the Federation of Thai Rubber Farmers, said the rubber price was still falling with third-grade smoked rubber sheet at 55-57 baht (€1.22-1.27) a kg, the lowest in five years.
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Full story from The Bangkok Post
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
- Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
- Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
- Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox
- Access to the ERJ online archive