The government has hinted it may continue with its rubber subsidy programme after it expires in June, if the price slump remains unresolved. The purchases began Monday and are due to conclude at the end of June. The administration, which has set up 1,500 purchase stations nationwide, agreed to buy raw rubber sheet at 45 baht per kilogramme, latex at 42 baht/kg and rubber cup lump at 41 baht/kg. It will buy 100,000 tonnes of rubber from growers with a quota of up to 150kg each. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Ministry Prawit Wongsuwon, responding to concerns about whether farmers would encounter problems when the scheme ends in the middle of harvest time, said the government may continue buying rubber until the problem is solved. Under the programme, the government has not specified the purchase ratio of either rubbersheet or latex