Farmer Jade Charongan (back) and his wife Toiy flattening still dry sheets of unprocessed rubber before stretching them at their rubber farm in the Ka Po village of the southern Thai province of Phang Nga in this file photo. Thailand’s government announced a series of measures last week to help rubber farmers, who have been hurt by a drop in global prices to five-year lows. Small farmers would receive a direct subsidy of 1,000 baht (US$31) per rai (0.16 hectare), capped at 15,000 baht. Thailand is the world’s biggest producer and exporter of rubber. It produced 4.2 million tons in 2013, of which around 86 percent was exported. Demand is slack at the moment because of a slowing Chinese economy and lacklustre growth in the developed world.SD-Agencies