Meanwhile, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya yesterday talked to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam about a plan to resolve the sharp drop in rubber value. But, they won’t reveal the details of the plan until they get approval from the Cabinet, who will receive it today.

More than 10 administrators from universities and colleges in Trang yesterday met Democrat Partychief adviser Chuan Leekpai, to discuss the impact of the falling rubber prices on students.

Former Prime Minister Chuan said a group of teachers have personally given money to students who were affected by the fall of rubber prices. However, he added, this measure could not be long lasting. Some schools have set up fundraisers to help their students. The funds donated from private businesses and local people, now numbers over Bt1 million.

Pol Maj Gen Kraiboon Suadsong, head of a government working committee for jointly solving the fall of rubber prices, called a meeting to expedite the progress of using rubber as materials for different products.

Meanwhile, Chatchalerm Chalermsuk, president of Rubber Authority of Thailand, yesterday asked the board to speed up payment of a subsidy of Bt1,500 per rai to rubber growers according to the Cabinet’s previous approval. The payment was still far short of its target of 800,000 rai or Bt12 billion.

The board meeting also finalised a plan to buy 100,000 tonnes of rubber from small growers as the Cabinet approved last meeting. Hence, the authority would submit a report on rules and regulations on this spending plan for consideration by the Cabinet meeting today.

General Sommai Kaotira, chief of Defence Forces, said the Thai army embraced the government’s policy on subsidies for rice and rubber farmers, which was considered a national problem. The military was an arm of the government, which would help it by purchasing rubber, so that the farmers could receive benefits in line with the Prime Minister’s decree.

After the Cabinet’s approval for a rubber subsidy, various ministers will buy a combined 100,000 tonnes of latex, which will be converted into rubber sheets directly from farmers and they will use the raw materials immediately instead of storing them.

Currently there are around 200,000-300,000 tonnes of rubber sheets in the government’s stockpile, while the Kingdom has an annual output of 4.1 million tonnes of natural rubber, of which only 1.4 million tonnes are used domestically.