Thailand approves $419 million in loans to help rubber farmers
Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved 1.5 billion baht (42 million dollars) in soft loans for rubber production and processing to boost rubber use and support farmers hit by falling prices.
Thailand, the world's top rubber producer and exporter, currently uses around 1.4 million tonnes of the four million tonnes of rubber it produces each year. Farmers in the mostly agrarian country have been increasingly affected by falling rural incomes which the junta that took power following a 2014 coup has struggled to reverse.
Tumbling world rubber prices because of a slowdown in China, the world's biggest rubber importer, have exacerbated the situation. "The soft loans of 1.5 billion baht will be available for 10 years or until limits are up," government spokesman, Sansern Kaewkamnerd, told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The measure is aimed at rubber production and processing businesses, he said. For every one million baht (27,886 dollars) loaned, four tonnes of rubber must be used per year for production. He said the measure should see 60,000 tonnes of rubber used in production each year. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said earlier this month his government planned to increase domestic use of rubber.
Thailand is currently buying rubber directly from farmers for infrastructure projects in order to help raise market prices for farmers hit by a global economic slump.
Keen to appease politically-powerful rubber farmers, the government approved a series of measures this month. It has also approved subsidies for rice farmers. (Reuters/NAN)
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