Oil palm fruit theft surges in southern Thailand as prices hit 6 baht per kilogramme
Farmers across Trang province, in southern Thailand, are facing serious problems due to the widespread theft of oil palm fruits. This situation has arisen following an increase in the price of these fruits, making them a lucrative target for thieves. This has led to the farmers calling upon the district chief and police to urgently tackle the problem, urging them not to release the arrested suspects without proper investigation.
The average price of oil palm fruits has risen to 5 to 6 baht per kilogramme, sometimes even exceeding 6 baht per kilogramme. This has led to an upsurge in thefts, especially in Trang province.
Thieves seize the opportunity when the farmers are not on-site, stealing the fruits that are almost ready for harvest, typically three to four days before the harvest date. Oil palm fruits are usually harvested every 15 days, but the thieves harvest them prematurely, causing serious distress to the farmers.
Approximately 20 oil palm farmers, both small and large, from the Huai Yot district of Trang province came together to meet with District Chief Suwat Sanwong. They sought his urgent intervention to address the widespread theft of oil palm fruits in the province.
The farmers provided the District Chief with information about the suspected thieves, as most of them knew who was involved, said Tasanee Wongpongphat, owner of an oil palm plantation in the Pak Cham area of Huai Yot district.
“I want to tell the police to make serious arrests and not release the thieves. They should be put in jail for a long time because these thieves do not invest anything. They do not buy seedlings; they do not plant; they do not fertilise; they do not care. They just stealthily steal and sell.”
Plantation thieves
Sawat Othong, the owner of a large oil palm plantation in the same district, revealed that his plantation was also regularly targeted by thieves. The large size of the plantation made it difficult to monitor every corner.
The thieves usually transported the stolen fruits using motorcycles with sidecars and occasionally used pickup trucks, reported KhaoSod.
Meanwhile, the District Chief promulgated two measures to deal with the problem. The first measure is targeting the thieves, and the second measure is dealing with the unlawful buying practices at the oil palm buying stations.
The district will intensify monitoring and prevention measures and provide information about the thieves based on the tip-offs received from various areas.
The district will also deal with buying stations that do not comply with the law. The effectiveness of these measures will be evaluated and adjusted as necessary.
