Sookwat Chandraparnik, deputy director-general of the Agriculture Department, said the increased production was part of the ministry's strategic plan to expand rubber plantation areas to 12.5 million rai.

Production will supply industries whose total demand is forecast to reach 400,800 tonnes in 2008, compared with expected demand of 350,000 tonnes this year. Expanded output should also increase the annual export value of rubber products to Bt239 billion.

Under the ministry's plan, rubber production will increase from 2.9 million tonnes last year to 3.13 million tonnes this year. - The Nation.

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CROSS-BORDER INVESTMENT: Firms eye Burma for palm oil

Rising demand from the alternative energy and food sectors has prompted companies from Malaysia and Thailand to seek permission from Burma to invest in oil palm cultivation in the country's southern Tanintharyi division, said a report in the local Khit Myanmar weekly, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.

Four Malaysian companies and a number of Thai firms have been interested in the sector since last year, with some of them seeking investment approval from the Foreign Investment Commission and others conducting feasibility studies.

Of the foreign companies hoping to invest in the sector, Malaysia's TDM and Agoo Venture are in the lead, the report said. Burma is implementing a project to transform the Tanintharyi division into an edible-oil pot in a bid to ensure domestic sufficiency. - The Nation.