GOVERNMENT ministers should be sacked if they fail to effectively address plummeting produce prices, former Democrat Party MP Watchara Phetthong said yesterday.
He said corn growers in Phetchabun complained to him that they were yet to receive the Bt300 million in compensation promised by the Yingluck government.
The farmers had urged the government to urgently give corn farmers the promised Bt1,000 per rai each - but not more than 15 rai per farmer or Bt15,000.
He said the farmers had also called for a halt to corn imports, and asked the Agriculture Ministry to provide them with inexpensive fertiliser and corn seeds.
The farmers claimed they were forced to buy pricey corn seeds - up to Bt1,600 per kilogram - from a giant conglomerate. But the seeds could not be used because they had been treated with radiation.
"We want to ask the giant company that has the market monopoly to stop selling corn seeds treated with radiation and stop taking advantage of corn farmers across the country,'' Watchara said.
He added that the government was to blame for the falling price of palm oil.
The government announced that the palm oil price must be Bt4 per kilogram but the latest price was Bt3 per kilogram, Watchara said.
This was because the Commerce Ministry approved the import of 50,000 tonnes of palm oil, causing the price to plunge.
He urged Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to seek advice from former deputy finance minister Pichet Panwichartkul if he was having trouble finding advisers knowledgeable about palm oil issues.
"If the ministers fail to address the price fall of agricultural produce, they must not be allowed to continue in their posts, even though they may be the PM's friends," Watchara said.