Bid to increase use of Thai rubber

BANGKOK, September 7 (TNA) - In an attempt to shore up domestic rubber prices, Thai Industry Minister Prasert Boonchaisuk says that his ministry has set a target for the local industrial sector to increase the use of natural rubber by double within 2015, from 500,000 tonnes now. Prasert told reporters on Saturday that he plans to meet with 30 major car tyre manufacturers on September 10 and to later discuss with rubber glove, medical equipment and condom manufacturers to encourage them to boost their production by using more locally-produced natural rubber. Besides, the minister acknowledged, the Thai government will encourage major tyre producers to invest more, as the use of rubber in their production stands at only 500,000 tonnes yearly now, while total production capacity is 710,000 tonnes annually. Meanwhile, representatives of rubber growers in Cha-uat District of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the Thai South thanked the government to guarantee the natural rubber price at 90 baht per kilogramme, noting that their production costs now stand at about 65 baht a kilogramme. But rubber growers in nearby Songkhla province insisted they do not accept the government’s proposed guarantee rubber price, as it remains unclear on how the implementation will be made. (TNA)