Songkhla: Suriya visited a model rubber plantation practicing sustainable agriculture in Songkhla province. The initiative promotes production coupled with income generation and a traceability system to support the environmentally conscious rubber market. Meanwhile, the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) revealed that Thailand is 98% ready to accept EUDR (Earth-Regulatory Data Reform) before implementing it with medium and large-scale operators later this year.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Suriya Jungrungruangkit, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, visited the Khlong Chang Rubber Plantation Fund Cooperative Limited in Khuan Niang District, Songkhla Province, to monitor the implementation of rubber policies. He highlighted this cooperative as a model of "civilized rubber plantation farming," aiming to increase farmers' income from utilizing rubber plantation land while simultaneously upgrading production to meet market demands that prioritize environmental sustainability.
Mr. Suriya stated that the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, through the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT), promotes the "Civilized Rubber Plantation" approach, which integrates local wisdom with technology and research to enable farmers to use their rubber plantations to generate additional income through crop cultivation, livestock farming, fisheries, or other agricultural activities suitable for each area, reducing their dependence on rubber income alone.
The Khlong Chang Rubber Plantation Fund Cooperative is one model that has adopted this approach, where farmers intercrop pineapples and other plants in their rubber plantations to generate income while the rubber trees are not yet fully productive, and to improve the efficiency of land use in the rubber plantations.
Currently, over 75,000 rai of rubber plantations are participating in the civilized agriculture approach. The Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) aims for farmers to earn at least 15,290 baht per rai per year from rubber farming, and to expand this approach through more than 1,000 farmer groups nationwide, including training, support in production and processing, and market management.
Regarding preparations for the European Union's Deforestation-Free Product (EUDR) rule, which covers rubber and related products and will apply to medium and large-scale enterprises from December 30, 2026, while most small and micro-enterprises will be affected from June 30, 2027, Mr. Veerish Amrapal, a member of the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) and acting governor, stated that Thailand is currently approximately 98% ready to comply with EUDR.
The Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) maintains a database of over 1.4 million registered rubber farmers and plantations, covering the majority of the country's rubber-growing area, over 15.5 million rai. This database includes plot coordinates, age and rubber variety, as well as yield data, to be used for verifying the origin and traceability of rubber in accordance with EUDR (Universal Natural Resources and Trade Agreement) requirements.
In addition, the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) has the Thai Rubber Trade (TRT) platform, which connects eight central rubber markets and a network of over 800 markets nationwide. It also has approximately 637 farmer institutions and rubber businesses ready to sell their products according to EUDR (Education Reform Agreement) requirements, linking trading with a traceability system throughout the supply chain.
Thailand is also classified as a low-risk country under the EUDR system, allowing importers sourcing goods from Thailand to utilize simplified inspection processes with a 1% inspection rate. Thailand holds an average market share of 20.3% for natural rubber in the European Union between 2021 and 2025, and by 2025, exports of rubber and rubber products to the EU are valued at over US$1.8 billion.
Mr. Weerit stated that the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) will continue to improve the completeness and currency of its farmer and rubber plantation databases to support traceability according to EUDR requirements and enhance the competitiveness of Thai rubber in the European Union and other markets that increasingly prioritize environmental standards and sustainability.