Slew of government measures have helped boost oil palm prices, says Jurin
The price of oil palm has been gradually improving and is currently at Bt4.20 to Bt5 per kilogram due to the measures taken by the government to help palm farmers, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit said on Saturday.
“The ministries of Commerce, Energy and Agriculture and Cooperatives have been working together to boost the price of oil palm by implementing several schemes, such as price guarantee, and making B10 biodiesel the standard diesel,” he said.
“The government has also ordered the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to use palm oil to generate electricity, which has helped consume 350,000 tonnes of domestic oversupply, and another 100,000 tonnes would be used in the coming months.
“We have also been installing meters at oil refineries to check the stocks of palm oil in real time to prevent entrepreneurs from using the excuse of adequate stock to refuse buying palm from farmers. The installation should be completed this month,” he added. “From late October onwards, the ministry will also provide Bt2 per kg subsidy to palm oil exporters to boost exports and accelerate the buying of palm from farmers.”
Jurin added that if palm price drops below Bt4 per kg, it would trigger the ministry’s price guarantee scheme, which would pay the difference to ensure that farmers receive Bt4 for each kg of their produce.
“This year’s scheme will end on December 15, which is the last day the scheme will pay the subsidy, while next year’s scheme will start paying from January 15,” he added.