The cabinet meeting on Tuesday 22, April 2008 has come to the following decisions:
* Approval of the reduction of property transfer fees and mortgage fees for non allocated land properties. This was proposed by the Minister of Finance and agreed to with the draft of the Ministry of Interior. In the fee is the right for juristic act and juristic accordance with the land act in the case of the support of the transactions as the cabinet has set as the Minister of Finance proposed and the Minister of Interior to accelerate the process to announce and will be effective later on.
The main point of the draft of the Ministry of Interior is the fee to the right for juristic act and juristic accordance with the land act as follows:
1. It sets transfer fees and the mortgage fees to be 0.01 in the case of supporting the purchase of the living property including single homes, duplexes and town homes or properties that includes more than one rai of land (more than .4 acres) not the land that is not in accordance with allocated land or allocated land under government officials or government organizations which have an authority to allocate land according to land laws
2. The reduction of the fee mentioned above will be effective from the day of the announcement in the government gazette until March 28, 2009
* Approval of the establishment of a strategy to deal with the world food and energy crisis as proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The details are as follows:
1.To set a principle in world food and energy crisis as a national policy.
2. To set a committee for food and energy management by designating the Deputy Prime Minister or any other person that the Prime Minister assigns to act as a Chairperson and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to act as a committee and secretariat, and the secretariat to the Office of Agricultural Economics to act as a committee and assistant to the secretariat, with the responsibility and authority as follows:
1. To propose a principle and strategy for the development of food production, food markets and energy to the cabinet.
2. To set regulations, principles and conditions that accommodates the production, marketing and export including farmer assistance in food production and energy.
3. To support education and research in food production such as type of crops, alternative energy and genetic improvement, food processing, value added and marketing.
4. To support the logistics and industrial development for food production and alternative energy and the processing for value added primary agricultural commodities.
5. The authority to establish a subcommittee and working committee as needed.
In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has analyzed the current situation as follows:
1. the food production crisis
1.1 At the present Thailand has an agricultural area including 130.28 million rai (52.11 million acres) which is about 40.82 % of the total land area. The total agricultural area of 320.7 million rai of which includes 63.6 million rai which the annual production at 57 million rai and double-crop fields of 11 million rai and an area for farm crop which totals 27.5 million rai and other areas for green fruit tree of 27.7 million rai and other areas for any other crop.
1.2 Thailand is an important producer in the world for crops such as rice, cassava, sugar cane, durian, longan, mangosteen, and pineapple, etc and also in the top range for exporting agricultural crops such as rice, cassava, and fruits and in the third range in exporting sugar.
1.3 Food production that is important for Thailand includes crops, live stock, and fisheries. Most of the production is enough for domestic consumption with enough left for export as well which generates income to the country. The exception is maize as domestic production is not enough to allow export. As for beef cattle, production is close to the required amount to cover domestic consumption. In the year 2007 Thailand's capacity production and food requirements for the country were as follows:
1.3.1 Farm crop and energy crop, rice production 30.93 million tons, domestic consumption is 16.94 millions tons or about 55 per cent of the total production and export for 13.26 million tons for about 43 per cent of the total production The total production of cassava is 27.40 million tons for domestic consumption and also for maize to produce food for livestock and in cassava flour for food industries such as paper, sweet substrate, etc for 8.55 tons or about 30 per cent of total production or export in cassava pellets, cassava flour 19.10 million tons or about 70 per cent of the production. Sugar cane the total production is 66.0 million tons in the form of sugar is 7.0 million tons, domestic consumption is 2.0 million tons or about 3.60 million tons of which the domestic production to produce maize sufficient to import. Palm Oil, total production is 7.873 or in raw palm oil with the production of 1.40 million tons and for domestic consumption 0.90 million tons and for bio diesel 0.35 million tons and for export 0.13 million tons
1.3.2 Fruits Pineapple with the total production of 2.25 million tons, domestic consumption 0.3 million tons and exports as canned pineapple and pineapple juice 1.95 million tons. Longan total production is 0.74 million tons, domestic consumption 0.05 million tons and export as fresh fruits and other products 0.45 million tons Durian total production is 0.74 million tons, domestic consumption 0.35 million tons and export as fresh fruit, and frozen durian and other product 0.39 tons Mangosteen total production is 0.30 million tons, domestic consumption 0.23 million tons and export for fresh fruits and frozen fruit 0.07 million tons.
1.3.3 Livestock Pig total production is 14.06 million ton or 1.12 million tons, domestic consumption 1.01 million tons and export for 0.012 million tons Chicken total production 900.17 million chickens or 1.13 million tons, domestic consumption 0.80 million tons and export for 0.33 million tons Chicken eggs 9,341 million eggs and domestic consumption 9,141 million eggs and export 200 million eggs Beef Cattle total production 1.27 million or 0.183 million tons domestic consumption 1.180 million tons Prawn farm total production 0.50 million tons domestic consumption 0.075 million tons and export 0.37 million tons.
2. Alternative energy plants situation Food plants and energy plants that are important in Thailand are cassava, sugar cane and palm oil which is sufficient for domestic energy. However, as a rapidly increasing demand for food and energy, the most important policy is to maintain the area of planting, production improvement by increasing the production per rai with a better crop and to utilize organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer and to set up the goal increasing production per rai by 10 per cent. The current production situation and requirements for energy are as follows:
2.1 Cassava remains the same production area which is 7.4 million rai and will increase the production per rai from 3.7 tons to 4.7 tons which includes the area to grow energy plants (as needed) about 8.4 per cent of the total area which is 0.62 million rai.
2.2 Sugar cane remains the production area of 6.0 rai and will increase the production from 11.0 tons to 12.0 tons which will include the area for plant energy (as needed) about 2.5 per cent of the total area of 0.15 rai
2.3 Palm oil to increase in area from 3.0 million rai to 5.5 million rai in the area of abandoned rice fields and abandoned farms and deteriorated area to increase the production per rai from 3.0 tons to 3.5 tons by dividing for energy plant (as needed) about 30 per cent of the total area of 1.65 million rai.
3. Issues/Problems
3.1 The current oil price situation in the world market sees rapidly increasing prices due to demand being more than production. This means it is up to the country to rely on imports from foreign country. Most countries in the world try to promote the policy to save energy or to utilize the energy plants such as cassava, sugar cane, maize and palm oil which creates a situation that it is necessary to grow energy plants in food production areas to respond to alternative energy sources such as ethanol or bio-diesel.
3.2 The various important food plants to use as food or part of industrial food production such as Cassava four, Cooking oil from Palm Oil, Sugar from Sugar Cane which will utilize some of the production for alternative energy which will increase the price in the market and lack of this product in the market.
3.3 The rapid increase of energy plant production has effected food production leading to rapidly escalating food prices and high demand from the world for food. Although Thailand has been producing enough for domestic consumption and also left some for export for the world population. If concern is only in exporting without concern about the current domestic situation which at the present the sees rapidly rising prices for agricultural products, including an increase in the cost of living it will lead to a food crisis or food security crisis in the country. 3.4 The rapidly changing market mechanism and climate change will cause the rice’s prices to rise and although farmers receive a nominally higher income at the same time the goods and product prices also increase which will create inflation where inflation is higher than the increased income of the farmer and in fact impacts their real income.
--Cabinet Meeting (Samak Sundaravej) April 22, 2008--
* Approval of the reduction of property transfer fees and mortgage fees for non allocated land properties. This was proposed by the Minister of Finance and agreed to with the draft of the Ministry of Interior. In the fee is the right for juristic act and juristic accordance with the land act in the case of the support of the transactions as the cabinet has set as the Minister of Finance proposed and the Minister of Interior to accelerate the process to announce and will be effective later on.
The main point of the draft of the Ministry of Interior is the fee to the right for juristic act and juristic accordance with the land act as follows:
1. It sets transfer fees and the mortgage fees to be 0.01 in the case of supporting the purchase of the living property including single homes, duplexes and town homes or properties that includes more than one rai of land (more than .4 acres) not the land that is not in accordance with allocated land or allocated land under government officials or government organizations which have an authority to allocate land according to land laws
2. The reduction of the fee mentioned above will be effective from the day of the announcement in the government gazette until March 28, 2009
* Approval of the establishment of a strategy to deal with the world food and energy crisis as proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The details are as follows:
1.To set a principle in world food and energy crisis as a national policy.
2. To set a committee for food and energy management by designating the Deputy Prime Minister or any other person that the Prime Minister assigns to act as a Chairperson and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to act as a committee and secretariat, and the secretariat to the Office of Agricultural Economics to act as a committee and assistant to the secretariat, with the responsibility and authority as follows:
1. To propose a principle and strategy for the development of food production, food markets and energy to the cabinet.
2. To set regulations, principles and conditions that accommodates the production, marketing and export including farmer assistance in food production and energy.
3. To support education and research in food production such as type of crops, alternative energy and genetic improvement, food processing, value added and marketing.
4. To support the logistics and industrial development for food production and alternative energy and the processing for value added primary agricultural commodities.
5. The authority to establish a subcommittee and working committee as needed.
In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has analyzed the current situation as follows:
1. the food production crisis
1.1 At the present Thailand has an agricultural area including 130.28 million rai (52.11 million acres) which is about 40.82 % of the total land area. The total agricultural area of 320.7 million rai of which includes 63.6 million rai which the annual production at 57 million rai and double-crop fields of 11 million rai and an area for farm crop which totals 27.5 million rai and other areas for green fruit tree of 27.7 million rai and other areas for any other crop.
1.2 Thailand is an important producer in the world for crops such as rice, cassava, sugar cane, durian, longan, mangosteen, and pineapple, etc and also in the top range for exporting agricultural crops such as rice, cassava, and fruits and in the third range in exporting sugar.
1.3 Food production that is important for Thailand includes crops, live stock, and fisheries. Most of the production is enough for domestic consumption with enough left for export as well which generates income to the country. The exception is maize as domestic production is not enough to allow export. As for beef cattle, production is close to the required amount to cover domestic consumption. In the year 2007 Thailand's capacity production and food requirements for the country were as follows:
1.3.1 Farm crop and energy crop, rice production 30.93 million tons, domestic consumption is 16.94 millions tons or about 55 per cent of the total production and export for 13.26 million tons for about 43 per cent of the total production The total production of cassava is 27.40 million tons for domestic consumption and also for maize to produce food for livestock and in cassava flour for food industries such as paper, sweet substrate, etc for 8.55 tons or about 30 per cent of total production or export in cassava pellets, cassava flour 19.10 million tons or about 70 per cent of the production. Sugar cane the total production is 66.0 million tons in the form of sugar is 7.0 million tons, domestic consumption is 2.0 million tons or about 3.60 million tons of which the domestic production to produce maize sufficient to import. Palm Oil, total production is 7.873 or in raw palm oil with the production of 1.40 million tons and for domestic consumption 0.90 million tons and for bio diesel 0.35 million tons and for export 0.13 million tons
1.3.2 Fruits Pineapple with the total production of 2.25 million tons, domestic consumption 0.3 million tons and exports as canned pineapple and pineapple juice 1.95 million tons. Longan total production is 0.74 million tons, domestic consumption 0.05 million tons and export as fresh fruits and other products 0.45 million tons Durian total production is 0.74 million tons, domestic consumption 0.35 million tons and export as fresh fruit, and frozen durian and other product 0.39 tons Mangosteen total production is 0.30 million tons, domestic consumption 0.23 million tons and export for fresh fruits and frozen fruit 0.07 million tons.
1.3.3 Livestock Pig total production is 14.06 million ton or 1.12 million tons, domestic consumption 1.01 million tons and export for 0.012 million tons Chicken total production 900.17 million chickens or 1.13 million tons, domestic consumption 0.80 million tons and export for 0.33 million tons Chicken eggs 9,341 million eggs and domestic consumption 9,141 million eggs and export 200 million eggs Beef Cattle total production 1.27 million or 0.183 million tons domestic consumption 1.180 million tons Prawn farm total production 0.50 million tons domestic consumption 0.075 million tons and export 0.37 million tons.
2. Alternative energy plants situation Food plants and energy plants that are important in Thailand are cassava, sugar cane and palm oil which is sufficient for domestic energy. However, as a rapidly increasing demand for food and energy, the most important policy is to maintain the area of planting, production improvement by increasing the production per rai with a better crop and to utilize organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer and to set up the goal increasing production per rai by 10 per cent. The current production situation and requirements for energy are as follows:
2.1 Cassava remains the same production area which is 7.4 million rai and will increase the production per rai from 3.7 tons to 4.7 tons which includes the area to grow energy plants (as needed) about 8.4 per cent of the total area which is 0.62 million rai.
2.2 Sugar cane remains the production area of 6.0 rai and will increase the production from 11.0 tons to 12.0 tons which will include the area for plant energy (as needed) about 2.5 per cent of the total area of 0.15 rai
2.3 Palm oil to increase in area from 3.0 million rai to 5.5 million rai in the area of abandoned rice fields and abandoned farms and deteriorated area to increase the production per rai from 3.0 tons to 3.5 tons by dividing for energy plant (as needed) about 30 per cent of the total area of 1.65 million rai.
3. Issues/Problems
3.1 The current oil price situation in the world market sees rapidly increasing prices due to demand being more than production. This means it is up to the country to rely on imports from foreign country. Most countries in the world try to promote the policy to save energy or to utilize the energy plants such as cassava, sugar cane, maize and palm oil which creates a situation that it is necessary to grow energy plants in food production areas to respond to alternative energy sources such as ethanol or bio-diesel.
3.2 The various important food plants to use as food or part of industrial food production such as Cassava four, Cooking oil from Palm Oil, Sugar from Sugar Cane which will utilize some of the production for alternative energy which will increase the price in the market and lack of this product in the market.
3.3 The rapid increase of energy plant production has effected food production leading to rapidly escalating food prices and high demand from the world for food. Although Thailand has been producing enough for domestic consumption and also left some for export for the world population. If concern is only in exporting without concern about the current domestic situation which at the present the sees rapidly rising prices for agricultural products, including an increase in the cost of living it will lead to a food crisis or food security crisis in the country. 3.4 The rapidly changing market mechanism and climate change will cause the rice’s prices to rise and although farmers receive a nominally higher income at the same time the goods and product prices also increase which will create inflation where inflation is higher than the increased income of the farmer and in fact impacts their real income.
--Cabinet Meeting (Samak Sundaravej) April 22, 2008--