Southern Thailand hit by weak rubber prices
At a time when little is going right for Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, Thailand is being hit hard by weak global demand for its major agricultural exports. Among the people most affected are the country’s rubber producers, suffering depressed prices since January 2014.
After surging to more than 160 baht ($4.65) a kilogramme in early 2011, the local price of wholesale sheet rubber fluctuated between 80 and 100 baht/kg until the end of 2013. Then came the crash. By early 2014, prices had fallen to around 60 baht/kg, well below the point that farmers consider worthwhile, and have not yet recovered.
