customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Tens of thousands of Thai rubber farmers protesting against a sharp drop in prices escalated protests across southern Thailand on Wednesday, cutting off access to large swathes of the region by blocking roads leading to tourist and commercial hubs.
Around 20,000 protesters are gathered at three main rally sites in the south watched over by a heavy police presence.
Protest leaders on Wednesday threatened to shut down Surat Thani airport, a transit point for tourists travelling to nearby islands including Pha Ngan and Samui, if their demands are not met by Wednesday.

	Protest leaders on Wednesday threatened to shut down Surat Thani airport, a transit point for tourists travelling to nearby islands including Pha Ngan and Samui, if their demands are not met
Officials say they will not hesitate to use force if protesters move to block the airport.
“Under no circumstances will we accept it if they shut down the airport. This will ruin tourism not to mention the country’s image,” Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok told reporters.
“If the protesters move to shut down Surat Thani airport, we will have not choice but to use force.”
Farmers in the country’s main southern rubber-producing region are demanding greater state support after a slowdown in demand from China and concerns over global economic growth sent prices tumbling to multi-year lows in mid-last year. China accounts for 35 per cent of global rubber consumption.
Rubber farmers mainly support the opposition Democrat Party and have accused Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of supporting rice farmers in her key constituencies through a rice-buying programme, while neglecting rubber farmers in the south of the country.
The protests, now into a second week, could have a ripple effect, impacting the country’s other major sources of revenue including tourism, say industry insiders.
“If the protest is prolonged there will be a definite impact on business overall and not just the rubber industry. The tourism sector, investors’ confidence and national security will all be affected,” Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said.
Thailand is the world’s biggest rubber producer and exporter with around 90 per cent of its output heading overseas. Thailand is forecast to produce 3.8 million tonnes of rubber this year.
The protests have disrupted distribution systems and delayed thousands of tonnes of Thai rubber shipments.
Protesting farmers blocked a key route leading to the country’s south on Tuesday after a cabinet decision not raise the price of smoked rubber sheets from 75 baht (US$2.34) per kilogram to 120 baht (US$3.74)per kilogram, one of the protesters’ primary demands.
Benchmark smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) was at US$2.75 per kg on Wednesday, barely changed from US$2.80 per kg hit in August last year, when tumbling prices prompted government intervention that expired in May. RSS3 prices are less than half of the record high of US$6.40 per kg touched in February 2011.


Thai rubber farmers step up protest against plunging prices

A rubber farmer gives a greeting to Thai riot police. Photo: AFP

Thai riot police officers form a line on a highway as rubber farmers block on the other end during a protest in Surat Thani province in southern Thailand. Photo: AP

Thai rubber farmer protesters shouting slogan beside buses they used to block a main highway during a rally calling for the government to increase rubber prices at Surat Thani province, southern Thailand. Photo: EPA

News

Asia