Up to 20 billion baht of damages expected as rubber farmers will not be able to tap their trees for another six weeks

The massive floods that hit five provinces in the South last week would have caused damages worth 20 billion baht, the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) said.

Sukthat Tangwiriyakul, acting governor of the authority, said heavy flooding in Songkhla, Satun, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat damaged more than 5 million rai of rubber plantations.

He said RAOT reckons that farmers will not be able tap their rubber trees for another month and a half, which would cause some 20 billion baht in lost revenue. The estimate is based on the current price of latex at 65 baht per kilogram.

Sukthat added that RAOT will give 3,000 baht in compensation to farmers who have registered their farms with RAT. The authority's provincial offices have also been granted an emergency fund of 100,000 baht each to distribute bags of necessities to flood victims.

Source : The Nation