Trang province’s rubber tree farmers have asked the government for help after the price of rubber suddenly plummeted following fresh Covid-19 lockdowns in Europe.
On Monday, the price in the latex market had dropped to Bt41-Bt42, from Bt70-71 a few days earlier, and is expected to fall further.
Siriphan Nuichoo, 46, a representative of rubber tree farmers in Trang, said that their incomes had dropped drastically as small 8-rai plantations could now only generate Bt300 a day.
Rubber farmers were growing other crops to eat in order to cut their expenses, he added. But they were still not making enough money to live since the cost of living was rising.
New Finance Minister Arkom Termpittayapaisith has started visiting state agencies for information and to give them policy advice, Thansettakij newspaper reported.
Although the overall picture of the Thai economy looks slightly better after the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) downgraded the full-year forecast to 7.7 per cent contraction from the previously expected minus 8.5 per cent, the economy still needs to be nurtured back into positive territory. Next year, the economy is expected to recover to 4.5 per cent growth, but it will take about two years for the Thai economy to return to the pre-Covid-19 outbreak level, Thansettakij said.
One month after taking office as new finance minister, Arkom had reportedly called only one meeting with top executives of the Ministry of Finance and some others. Therefore it did not see many actual results since most of his work involves the government’s Centre for Economic Situation Administration or the Cabinet.
From November 9-13, Arkom will visit eight important agencies under the Ministry of Finance: Revenue Department, Excise Department, Customs Department, Fiscal Policy Office, Public Debt Management Office, State Enterprise Policy Office, The Treasury Department and the Comptroller-General’s Department, to listen to operational guidelines and suggest policies for each agency to implement.
The Revenue Department, which is a key agency in generating income for the government, has set its revenue target for fiscal year 2021 at Bt2.085 trillion.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, the director-general of the Revenue Department, confirmed the revenue target, explaining that they would receive additional income from the collection of value-added tax from electronic service providers abroad to domestic service recipients (e-service) after the House of Representatives approves it as a law. It is expected to be effective early next year, and generate about Bt5 billion.
Meanwhile, the tax base will be widened to bring more income in the future, but that may not be enough, Ekniti said. Arkom may therefore hike taxes, but at the same time technology must be used to draw more people to pay taxes, Ekniti said.
Police recently seized a cache of amphetamine pills and methamphetamine powder in Khon Kaen’s Nam Phong district, and also nabbed drug suspect Sukree CheauKham, 25, it was reported on Monday.
Police later learned that the 192,000 amphetamine pills and 3 kilograms of methamphetamine powder was to be distributed in Nam Phong as well as Nong Ruea, Chum Phae and Ban Phai districts.
Police said they had received a tip-off about the suspect acting suspiciously and later spotted him taking a black plastic bag into a sugarcane field. Police later found the drugs hidden in the field.
During interrogation, Sukree said he had got the drugs from a Laotian acquaintance. Police believe drug trade in Khon Kaen has picked up because there are no checkpoints.
Cool weather and clear skies have made the Mekong River in Nong Khai province a sight to behold.
“According to the Water Resource Regional Office 3, the water levels in the Mekong River was only 2.43 metres, up by just 3 centimetres after recent rainfall,” the Nong Khai Public Relations Office reported on its Facebook page.
“There is a gentle breeze with temperature as low as 18 degrees Celsius in the mornings, which turns the river into a picturesque sight, reflecting the blue of the sky as well as silhouettes of rafts, boats, houses and temples on both Thailand’s and Laos’ side.”
The office said the river is at its most beautiful in the morning and advises people to stand against the sun to enjoy the vista.
A gang of youths showed up at an ordination ceremony in Si Sa Ket province on Monday morning and began shooting randomly, leaving 13 people injured.
The scene in Samrong Sung village temple became chaotic as people tried to avoid bullets, and the gang began fighting and punching people.
Of the 13 victims, one had to be admitted to hospital with a bullet wound in the head.
Police managed to arrest Mongkol Duangsit, 27, who was found to be carrying a gun. He is being interrogated for information on motive and who was behind the incident.
Elephant that died of injuries had 15 bullets in its body
NationalNov 09. 2020Photo credit: Forest for Wild Life_ป่าเพื่อสัตว์ป่า
By THE NATION
Veterinarians found 15 bullets in the body of an elephant, which had been caught in a rut and was captured at the end of October.
On Sunday, the injured elephant called “Nga San” (short ivories) reportedly died of complications, according to the government’s Twitter feed “Forest for Wild Life_ป่าเพื่อสัตว์ป่า”. Its body was buried in line with an academic procedure.
On October 29, forest officials had tranquilised the aggressive animal and captured it in Rayong province, after it was reported to have been stuck in a rut.
Veterinarians from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation later found several bullets in Nga San’s body. They suspected that the elephant had been shot previously after it invaded human residential areas.
The elephant’s injuries were treated by vets until it gradually recovered. However, in the last week the elephant had soaked itself in a pond located near the place where the vets had treated it.
The immersion in water for some 48 hours aggravated the elephant’s wounds. Nga San died on Friday from infection, despite veterinarians trying several medicines. Its funeral was held on Sunday.
Air pollution has returned Bangkok and its vicinity, with 71 air-quality stations across the capital showing readings of 27 to 52 micrograms of PM2.5 dust particles per cubic meter of air.
Fine dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter or PM2.5 can be easily inhaled and be hazardous to health.
According to IQAir.com, as of 8.50am on Monday, Bangkok ranked 23 globally with its air quality index logging in at 116.
Meanwhile, as per Air4Thai.com, pollution in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district has exceeded safe limits, while air pollution in Mae Charoen Road and Petchkasem Soi 8 has reached unhealthy levels.
Residents in these areas have been warned not to conduct outdoor activities and follow pollution reports closely.
The takeover of Tesco Lotus by conglomerate CP Group will have a negative effect on consumers, former deputy prime minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said.
After the Office of Trade Competition Commission voted to allow CP Retail Development Co Ltd and Tesco Stores (Thailand) to merge, Korbsak pointed out that there would be less competition in the market.
He expressed disappointment that the merger was allowed on November 2 after about three months of deliberations.
He said that the consumers would lose benefits from CP’s decision to buy Tesco from Ek-Chai Distribution System Co Ltd, which was the major shareholder. About
40 per cent of CP Retail Development shares belong to CP All, 40 per cent is held by Charoen Pokphand Holding Co Ltd, and 20 per cent by CP Merchandising Co Ltd.
The acquisition along with that of Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd were processed simultaneously and they were worth Bt338 billion in total.
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently conducted a study on alcohol-based sanitising gels available in the market and has found that some 20 per cent do not meet its standards, FDA’s deputy permanent secretary Suphatra Boonserm said.
“Of the 135 brands tested, 27 failed FDA standards while eight were found to contain methanol. Legal action has already been taken against these manufacturers,” she said.
Methanol cannot be used in hand sanitisers because it can cause poisoning and affect the eyes or the nervous system. It is also believed to cause dermatitis.
“FDA has also revoked manufacturing permits from 82 producers who failed to make hand-sanitising gel that contains at least 70 per cent of alcohol, and confiscated products they had stored in warehouses in different provinces, including Pathum Thani and Samut Sakhon.”
Suphatra added that the crackdown on substandard alcohol gel manufacturers has resulted in 70 offenders facing charges and seizure of products worth more than Bt148 million.
Consumers are encouraged to report sub-standard products to the FDA via www.fda.moph.go.th, Line and Facebook @FDAThai, or through the Oryor Smart mobile application.
Thais spend on average around Bt10.8 billion in religious travel per year, Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said.
The office recently conducted a poll on Thai consumers’ spending related to religious and sacred items.
“Out of 7,904 respondents, 43.9 per cent said that they travelled less often to religious venues [temples, churches] compared to the previous year, mainly due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” she said.
“The top reasons for visiting religious venues are to pay respects and gain spiritual support, followed by praying to holy objects and asking for blessings.
“Over 70 per cent of respondents said they spend less than Bt200 for donations/merit-making on each trip to religious venues. People in this group are mostly students or unemployed, while those who spend more than Bt200 at religious venues are mostly civil servants and business owners,” she added.
“Activities that are most popular among religious visitors are fortune-telling from horoscope [54.1 per cent], palm reading [20.9 per cent] and Tarot cards reading [12.2 per cent].”
From the poll results, the office estimated that Thais spend around Bt10.8 billion on religious travelling per year, accounting for 0.36 per cent of total tourism revenue. “Religious travelling is an important economic activity that helps create revenue at the community level, as Thailand has religious venues scattered in every province,” Pimchanok said. “Therefore, local administrators and communities must work together to promote local tourism as well as maintain religious venues in good condition to attract tourists.”
Arkom Termpittayapaisith 
Photo credit: Forest for Wild Life_ป่าเพื่อสัตว์ป่า 
