Bush fires may hurt rubber output: INRO

Bush fires may hurt rubber output: INRO

TOKYO (Reuter): Raging bush fires in Indonesia may have hurt natural rubber production in Southeast Asia, but it is hard to assess the damage at present, an official of the International Natural Rubber Organization (INRO) said yesterday.

"We have not received (reports) on what extent the haze damaged production of rubber, but there might be some effect," INRO executive director Ahmad Zubeir Noordin told a news conference in Tokyo.

Asked about the impact of a severe drought Indonesia is suffering on natural rubber production, Zubeir said it was too early to judge now, but he would get better idea of rubber production levels for this year when INRO holds a council meeting next month.

Indonesia's bush fires have destroyed an estimated 750,000 hectares of land on Sumatra and Kalimantan, triggering a choking haze which has hit Singapore and Malaysia and drifted as far as Thailand and the Philippines.

Indonesian government officials said earlier this week the smog is expected to lift this month with the beginning of the monsoon season.

Japanese rubber futures prices have been supported by concern that the fires and the drought might have a negative impact on natural rubber production.

Zubeir also said global supplies of natural rubber currently surpass world demand, and INRO tries to balance supply and demand by helping boost rubber demand.

INRO is an international body established for the purpose of stabilizing natural rubber prices.