Thailand achieves more foreign orders for rubber

BANGKOK, July 2 (TNA) -- Minister for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Krisada Boonrat said that the recent tour of southern rubber plantations and operations by foreign diplomats and traders has been tremendously successful and has resulted in an additional 700,000 ton per year increase for rubber orders. Mr Krisada said that its recent campaign to link foreign rubber businesses with local producers has exceeded expectations and has secured commitments from more than 20 foreign companies to purchase rubber from more than 30 local rubber institutions handled by the ministry. The Rubber Authority of Thailand played host to the event in Trang province on June 30 which has successfully helped to expand the market for Thai rubber. Commitments have been received from 27 companies from China, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Mexico and Russia for a total of 58,000 tons per month of concentrated latex, white crepe rubber, ribbed smoked sheet rubber and technically specified or blocked rubber. In total this will contribute to a significant annual increase in rubber exports of 696,000 tons. Mr Krisada stated that on top of securing new orders the campaign has helped to development business negotiation awareness and created new avenues for exports for local rubber institutions. More importantly the campaign has been successful in not only breaking into new markets but also generating more orders from existing customers as well. The role of the Rubber Authority of Thailand in all of this is to act as the intermediary to facilitate sales negotiations between all parties. One benefit that cannot be overlooked is the profound impact this will have on local rubber institutions to not only guarantee but also to further raise the quality of Thai rubber in order to leapfrog competitors. (TNA)