Illustrative image (Source: malaymail.com)Hanoi (VNA) – The National Oil Palm PolicyCommittee of Thailand hasapproved a guaranteed price for palm oil and will submit the guarantee to thecabinet for approval within two weeks.
The palm nut guaranteed price is setat 4 THB a kilogramme and growers will receive the price for no more than 4hectares, Deputy Prime Minister andCommerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said after the committee’s meeting on August19.
Some 300,000 palm oil farmers areexpected to join theprogramme, he said.
Once approved, farmers wanting to join the programme canregister with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
The committee has not announced the budget for thisprogramme as it will depend on how many farmers join and the market price whenthe programme becomes effective, according to Jurin.
This will be discussed at cabinet level for furtherapproval, he said.
Meanwhile, the committee also approved other measures toimprove palm oil price including enforcing the use of B10 grade biodiesel inthe transportation sector by the end of 2019.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT)is continuing to buy crude palm oil to produce electricity at Bang Pakong PowerPlant under a quota approved by the cabinet of about 130,000 tonnes.
In June, the National Oil Palm PolicyCommittee approved a revised palm oil strategy to fit the national 20-yearstrategy (2018-2037).
The strategy covers six areas, including production,innovation, standards, energy, marketing and management.
The committee agreed that Thailand should focus on innovation, increase thevalue of palm products and develop oleo, a raw material for cosmetics, soapsand chemicals.–VNA
VNA
