BANGKOK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Several Thai government agencies have offered to buy rubber in a bid to help contain its plunging prices in the domestic market, according to a senior government official.
Prime Minister's Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck said on Friday that 10 government units have already confirmed to buy a combined volume of 20,000 tons of rubber out of a total of 104,000 tons currently kept in government stock.
More government units are expected to follow as the government has called for the extensive uses of rubber in the country's public and private sectors while the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAT) planned to raise an estimated 34.3 million U.S. dollars in funding for government bids to bolster the domestic rubber prices, Ormsin said.
The combined volume of rubber which is to be bought from the government's buffer stock and used by varied government units is expected to substantially increase over the following years.
In addition to the RAT, several Thai firms in manufacturing sector which use rubber as main component are expected to contribute to such funds, according to the minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office.
Rubber can be mixed with asphalt for use in the construction of roads by the Highways Department and the Rural Roads Department as well as the construction of playground surfaces and soccer fields.
The lowly-priced rubber is currently traded for 51.9 baht (about 1.48 U.S. dollars) per kg at Hat Yai central rubber market in southern Thailand. That compared to as much as 80 baht (about 2.28 U.S. dollars) per kg over the last few years.
Meanwhile, Ormsin said he will leave for Malaysia next week to follow up on measures taken by the three-nation Committee on Strategic Market Operation in a bid to bolster the rubber prices which have plummeted and remained on the downtrend in the world market.
Those rubber producing countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, had mutually pledged to limit export volumes for their respective rubber to refrain from undercutting the prices and take joint steps to keep the world market prices from falling further.
Thailand, one of the world's three largest rubber producers, has exported more than 3 million tons of rubber in a year.
