Resigning members force tin body to rethink strategy<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuter): The Association of Tin Producing Countries
\n(ATPC), hit by resignations of two member-nations the past week,
\nneeds to be restructured to make it relevant, a senior official
\nsaid yesterday.<\/p>\n
"A cartel is no longer effective," the official told reporters
\non the opening day of the ATPC's two-day ministerial conference
\nin Singapore.<\/p>\n
"A restructuring may be necessary and the ATPC could become a
\nstudy group for consumers and producers which may also compile
\nstatistics for the industry," said the official, who asked not to
\nbe identified.<\/p>\n
The ATPC must face the reality that it can no longer control
\ntin prices in the market and must cope with the decisions by
\nAustralia and Thailand to leave the organization, he added.<\/p>\n
Zaire, which now produces no tin at all, has also stopped
\nattending ATPC meetings.<\/p>\n
The membership roll is down to five countries -- Bolivia,
\nChina, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria. Brazil is an observer,
\nbut has decided to delay joining the group, saying it would be
\n"useless" to join the ATPC now.<\/p>\n
"Nickel has a study group now and it has worked," the official
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Other officials said the ATPC would continue to exist despite
\nthe departure of Thailand and Australia.<\/p>\n
"We will stay," a Chinese source said.<\/p>\n
"We are committed to the ATPC," said an Indonesian official.
\nDiscussions in the conference also focused on the fate of an
\nexport quota system which has been violated by many of the ATPC's
\nown members over the years. The so-called supply rationalization
\nscheme (SRS) was suspended in May.<\/p>\n
Another delegate said a proposal would allow the current free
\nmarket system to continue for a year and keep the SRS scheme
\nsuspended.<\/p>\n
The effectiveness of the free market system would then be
\nreviewed at the next ATPC meeting in September, 1997, he said.<\/p>\n
But China, the world's largest producer of tin, said it wanted
\nthe SRS to continue, although its reasons were not immediately
\navailable, one official said.<\/p>\n
"The Chinese want the SRS to continue," the official said,
\nadding that discussions were continuing on the issue.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has said the SRS should be abandoned since nobody
\nfollowed it.<\/p>\n
"It has already died," Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, director general
\nof mining at the Mines and Energy Ministry, said last month.<\/p>\n
A conference source said the Indonesians believed the export
\nquota system was "obsolete. The free market is the way to go."<\/p>\n
China's tin output fell 5.91 percent to 35,504 tons in the
\nfirst eight months of the year. It exported 16,228 tons of tin in
\nthe first seven months of 1996, down 27.7 percent year-on-year.<\/p>\n
The United States is the world's biggest consumer of tin,
\nimporting 33,200 tons of the 45,000 tons it consumed in 1995.<\/p>\n
Tin company officials in Malaysia said any attempt to revive
\nthe SRS would fail.<\/p>\n
Singapore-based tin traders said the ATPC should drop any
\nattempt to impose export quotas and concentrate on possibly
\nbecoming a forum for consumers and producers.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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