Bangkok: Farmers' groups are continuing their petition to the Prime Minister regarding the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, which is impacting oil supply. They proposed two measures to help farmers and reduce the burden of agricultural costs.

According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Singchai Rueangkhajorn, Chairman of the Coordinating Working Group for Members of the National Farmers Council in the Central Region, led a group of farmers affected by the conflict in the Middle East to submit a letter to the Prime Minister through Mr. Santi Piyathat, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, at the Government's 1111 Complaint Center. The letter outlined measures to alleviate the suffering of farmers due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Farmers affected by the situation stated that the tense situation and fighting in the Middle East are likely to be prolonged and intensify. Coupled with transportation limitations and uncertainty in the global energy market, this is likely to cause fuel prices to rise, inevitably impacting the global economy and Thailand.

The aforementioned situation has had a widespread impact on farmers in Thailand, particularly those involved in field crops, orchards, and aquaculture. They face rising costs due to high fuel prices, and in some areas, farmers struggle to obtain sufficient fuel due to limitations at gas stations. Farmers need fuel for their agricultural machinery, and a lack of adequate fuel supply could halt agricultural production, leading to severe damage to yields and farmer income.

Therefore, we propose an urgent measure to alleviate the hardship of farmers: the government should consider allocating fuel to farmers as a special case. This should involve establishing measures allowing registered farmers to purchase fuel using gallons for agricultural use, under appropriate guidelines and quantities.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Commerce are requested to integrate farmer registration data to determine measures to regulate fuel prices in order to reduce the burden of costs on the agricultural sector.

Mr. Santi reiterated the measures previously explained by the Ministry of Energy, confirming that Thailand has sufficient oil reserves, before accepting the matter and forwarding it to the Prime Minister.