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SUPAMART KASEM
Tak _ The business sector has urged the government to talk to Burma about upgrading the Singkhon border pass in Prachuap Khiri Khan to a permanent checkpoint to facilitate the oil palm business in the neighbouring country.
The call was made at a meeting on measures to promote trading in farm products from Thailand and Burma under the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy.
More than 100 investors from the agricultural, industrial, and tourism sectors from five border provinces _ Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi, and Ranong _ joined the meeting.
Niyom Wairatpanit, chairman of the border trade committee of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said Thailand should hold talks with the Burmese junta about making the Singkhon border pass a permanent checkpoint, as more Thai investors were showing interest in growing oil palms in Burma due to the expected future demand for alternative energy sources such as bio-diesel.
In addition, a contract farming committee said Burma's Shan, Karen, and Mon states were suitable for oil palm cultivation.
Recently, experts said Burma's Tenasserim division, a border area opposite Prachuap Khiri Khan, was suitable for oil palm farming thanks to its climate and soil conditions.
Oil palm cultivation has rapidly expanded in Burma, with over 100,000 rai of land turned into plantations.
