November 22, 2013
Thailand's milk producers seek government approval to raise milk price
Thailand's Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Yukol Limlaemthong has agreed to bring assistance measures for dairy farmers to the cabinet's attention.
The decision on the issue of rising raw milk production cost was made during his meeting with the representatives of the Dairy Co-operative Federation of Thailand Ltd. and dairy farmers.
During the meeting, the Dairy Product Committee (Milk Board) submitted a petition asking the Government to give them an approval to increase the price of raw milk by THB1.31 (US$0.04) per litre. They also requested that the Government subsidise their production cost by THB0.31 (US$0.01) per kilogramme, while the private sector would absorb the rest.
The Milk Board proposed that the amount of subsidy should be paid directly to the farmers through the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives. The cost of the entire scheme is estimated at THB173 million (US$5.4 million). The proposal is currently being proposed to the Secretariat of the Cabinet for scrutiny before being forwarded to the cabinet for consideration.
