INRO manager faces tough balancing act<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): After having dealt with rubber for the
\nlast 26 years, James Hegarty is about to embark on a tough
\nbalancing mission to try keep 26 governments happy about the
\nprice of the highly volatile commodity.<\/p>\n
The 57-year-old American, whose career evolved around serving
\nU.S. tire maker Firestone even before it was bought by Japan's
\nBridgestone, will from September be the fourth buffer stock
\nmanager for the International Natural Rubber Organization (INRO).<\/p>\n
Hegarty, who hails from Akron, Ohio, takes over from 71-year-
\nold Illinois-born Aldo Hofmeister, who is resigning after more
\nthan eight years, INRO's longest-serving buffer stock manager.<\/p>\n
His job is to help Kuala Lumpur-based INRO administer a global
\nprice pact hammered out 14 years ago by six producer and 20
\nconsumer countries by buying and selling rubber to stabilize
\nprices.<\/p>\n
"I will approach my new job in an objective and
\nstraightforward manner to accomplish the key purpose of the pact.
\nI have to operate within the confines of the agreement," Hegarty
\ntold AFP in an interview.<\/p>\n
He has a big task at hand to convince producers he can remain
\nunbiased in decision-making, having been a veteran in purchasing
\nrubber and coming from a major consumer nation.<\/p>\n
The job of buffer stock manager is normally given to a
\nconsumer member nation and the United States is the world's
\nlargest rubber consumer.<\/p>\n
New agreement<\/p>\n
Hired to serve for the duration of what is normally a five-
\nyear pact, Hegarty was chosen out of six candidates put forward
\nby the United States and the European Union.<\/p>\n
He comes in at a time when the International Natural Rubber
\nAgreement (INRA) is about to savor a new lease of life, but not
\nbefore undergoing turbulent times.<\/p>\n
The contracting parties are preparing to hammer out a new
\nagreement at UN-sponsored negotiations in Geneva in early
\nOctober. The existing INRA expired in December and has been
\nextended for a year pending talks on a successor pact.<\/p>\n
Hegarty is also coming in when Hofmeister is busily selling
\ndown INRO's 220,000-ton stockpile to control prices, which have
\nsoared to five-year highs.<\/p>\n
"It is a rather dynamic time as it offers me the opportunity
\nto view INRO's operations. I could be starting off with a clean
\nslate," Hegarty said, referring to the possibility of Hofmeister
\nhaving to clean out his entire stocks to stabilize the hike.<\/p>\n
Analysts say the rubber accord has turned out to be arguably
\nthe best and most successful surviving producer-consumer pact
\never devised, despite some shortcomings.<\/p>",
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