RI's crisis won't hurt rubber deal<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (Dow Jones): An agreement on rubber reached between
\nthe ministers of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia won't collapse
\ndespite the political crisis in Indonesia, Thailand's Deputy
\nMinister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Natee Khlibtong told
\nDow Jones Newswires in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
Natee said the agreement was agreed upon by the three
\ngovernments and will be implemented despite domestic crisis which
\nmay occur in any one of the countries.<\/p>\n
\"I'm confident that the cooperation won't fall through. It
\nwill continue to exist, but how soon it will be implemented
\ndepends on the readiness of the three countries,\" Natee said.<\/p>\n
In a ministerial meeting in Bangkok July 5, ministers from the
\nthree countries agreed to cooperate in several areas in their
\nefforts to boost world prices of natural rubber. The countries
\nagreed to cooperate in rubber stock management, managing output
\nlevels and price support schemes.<\/p>\n
Thailand is the world's largest rubber producer and exporter,
\nfollowed by Indonesia and Malaysia. The three countries account
\nfor around 80 percent-85 percent of the world's rubber
\nproduction.<\/p>\n
The ministers also agreed at the meeting to set up a
\nTripartite Rubber Corporation, or TRC, to manage rubber trading,
\nstocks withholding and market intervention buying activity. They
\nalso agreed to reduce output by 4 percent in 2002.<\/p>\n
Should the political situation in Indonesia lead to a new
\nminister being placed in charge of issues related to the rubber
\nindustry, Natee said he is still confident that the agreement on
\nrubber will be carried out by the minister, as the pact was
\nagreed by the three governments.<\/p>\n
Thailand's Natee, Indonesia's Industry and Trade Minister
\nLuhut Panjaitan and Malaysia's Primary Industries Minister Lim
\nKeng Yaik are currently in charge of issues related to the rubber
\nindustry for the respective three countries.<\/p>\n
A joint task force comprising rubber officials from Thailand,
\nIndonesia and Malaysia is scheduled to meet in August to decide
\nhow the TRC will function, Natee said.<\/p>\n
Recommendations will be submitted during the ministerial
\nmeeting September 7, he said.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, the meeting will take place as
\nscheduled,\" Natee said.<\/p>\n
However, Natee said he is concerned that the political unrest
\nin Indonesia might hinder the work of the task force as
\nIndonesian officials might be reluctant to propose their
\nrecommendations to their minister, amid the unstable political
\nsituation in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"If the (Indonesian) officials (working for the joint task
\nforce) worry too much about politics...the work of the task force
\nmight be delayed,\" Natee said.<\/p>\n
Thailand is expected to produce around 2.4 million metric tons
\nof rubber this year, while Indonesia and Malaysia will produce
\n1.5 million-1.6 million tons and 600,000 tons, respectively.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ris-crisis-wont-hurt-rubber-deal-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}