4 major rubber producing countries meet in Bangkok

BANGKOK, March 3 (TNA) -- Thailand has proposed five measures to three other major natural rubber producing countries in an attempt to shore up rubber prices in the global market, said Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Grisada Boonrach. High ranking officials from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand attended a meeting at a Bangkok hotel on Friday to explore ways to lift rubber prices in the world market. The five measures proposed by Thailand to those three countries are encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to produce more rubber processing products in order to add more value, and government agencies in their countries to use rubber in road construction. Thailand will use 180,000 tonnes of rubber in constructing roads. Three other measures include halting new rubber planting area, each of the four countries to appoint a committee to fix rubber prices and to stop producing more rubber supplying to the world market. According to Mr Grisada, Thailand will reduce annual rubber supply to 3.5 million tonnes from 4.5 million tonnes and to also stop rubber tapping for three months this year in the area of three million rai or rubber tapping is held every other day in a bid to lift rubber prices in the world market. Rubber growers will be persuaded to switching to growing other cash crops, said Mr Grisada. A close monitoring will be made whether Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have kept their promises to reduce their combined export of rubber to only 350,000 tonnes in three months, ending this March 31. The promises were made with an objective to shore up rubber prices in the global market. Vietnam attended Friday’s meeting for the first time and is invited and is likely to become a member of the the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) which comprises of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Vietnamese officials who attend the Friday meeting said the country would give the reply during the next meeting. (TNA)