The government is being urged to speed up crude palm oil exports, which exporters believe would be a more effective tool for raising domestic palm product prices.
Wiwan Boonyaprateeprat, secretary-general of the Thai Oil Palm and Palm Oil Association, said the government's ongoing attempt at price intervention is doing little to help boost palm prices.
"The government's intervention is fruitless, as fresh palm nut prices remain at a relatively low 2.20 baht per kilogramme," she said.
The National Oil Palm Policy Committee last December agreed to buy palm nuts at 4 baht per kg for those with 17% oil content and 4.35 baht for 18.5% oil content.
The Public Warehouse Organization then bought 50,000 tonnes of crude palm oil at 25 baht per kg for state stocks, or 1.25 billion baht.
Thailand is projected to control up to 360,000 tonnes of crude palm oil, with plans to buy another 50,000 tonnes shortly to shore up local prices.
The purchases, approved yesterday by a panel on oil palm marketing chaired by Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, will take place between next Wednesday and June 30.
Ms Wiwan said farmers will not benefit much from this new intervention, as farmers are required to hold land title deeds to participate. Most oil palm farmers just hold Por Bor Tor 5 documents, which bestow rights of possession that are recognised only if tax payments are made at the Local Administrative Office.
"The government instead needs to speed up discharging its hefty stocks, probably at a loss since the market price for crude palm oil is now quoted at 21-22 baht per kg," said Ms Wiwan.
"An appropriate stock level for domestic consumption is only 200,000 tonnes, meaning there is a 160,000-tonne surplus."
Sittiporn Jariyapong, vice-chairman of the National Farmers Council, urged the government to extend participation rights in the scheme to all farmers, with 4.4 million rai already planted.