Ministry to cut middlemen out of rubber trade

LABIS: The government plans to increase profits for rubber small holders by implementing various initiatives, including reducing the role of the middleman.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said with the current price of rubber at RM16.29 per kilo, small holdings could only take in half the amount as they depended on middlemen.

He said the ministry also plans to establish factories to process rubber in holdings that are 5,000ha or bigger.

Shafie said this after presenting aid to repair old houses in Kampung Lembah Bakti here yesterday.

On another matter, Shafie said the ministry had spent RM431.6mil in repairing and building more than 16,000 houses in rural areas nationwide last year under the House Assistance Programme (PBR).

He said the government has allocated RM300mil to help 9,146 families this year in repairing their houses.

(Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/24/tenang/7857384&sec=tenang)