More natural rubber used for community road construction in Thailand

BANGKOK, March 8 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Transport has approved a plan on increasing the proportion of natural rubber in the construction of community roads nationwide to 8 per cent for each project, from 5 per cent earlier. Thai Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Grisada Boonrach told journalists that the Ministry of Transport has accepted his ministry's proposed plan on the increased proportion of natural rubber for its community road construction projects nationwide. "My ministry has been notified by the Ministry of Transport that its Department of Rural Roads has been ordered to raise the proportion for its use of locally-grown natural rubber in the construction of community roads nationwide from 5 per cent to 8 per cent for each project to comply with the government's policy, aimed to boost the demand and prices of natural rubber on the domestic market and to assist local growers of natural rubber", said the minister. The minister revealed that the construction of community roads will be started after an ongoing survey is completed to see where such the roads are needed in over 75,000 villages nationwide. According to the minister, the government-supported community road construction project is believed to increase market demand of locally-grown natural rubber by up to at least one million tons in the coming months. Besides, the Thai government has encouraged local natural rubber growers to switch to grow other economic crops to address the current problems of oversupply and a drop in market prices of the produce and international investors to expand their investment in or the production of processed natural rubber products, like auto tyres, hand gloves, conveyor belts and bedding sets, to also boost market demand of locally-grown natural rubber that is used as their raw materials. (TNA)