Indonesia delays int'l rubber meeting

Indonesia delays int'l rubber meeting

Dow Jones, Bangkok

A planned meeting of the International Tripartite Rubber Council, or ITRC, next week was called off after Indonesia sought a postponement, Wate Thainugul, manager of the Thai Rubber Association said Friday.

The Rubber Research Institute of Thailand, the meeting organizer, Friday informed the association of the postponement, Wate said.

An RRIT official said Indonesia didn't give a reason for calling off the meeting. A new date hasn't yet been fixed, she added.

The ITRC was originally scheduled to meet in Bangkok June 17- 19 to follow up on implementation of an agreement among Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia to cut rubber supply and exports, said Jirakorn Kosaisawee, director of the Economics Division at Thailand's RRIT. The ITRC comprises government officials and private sectors from the three member countries.

"The (supply and export cut) plan is already implemented in all (concerned) countries...we plan to review the implementation at the meeting," Jirakorn said.

The three countries announced earlier this month that they have already implemented the plan to cut exports. For 2002, Thailand has pledged to lower its export 1.973 million tons of rubber while Indonesia has set a limit at 1.231 million tons and Malaysia will cap its volume at 227,000 tons.

Rubber ministers from the three countries, the world's largest natural rubber producers, agreed in December last year to jointly cut rubber supply and exports by 4 percent and 10 percent respectively, starting this year. The International Tripartite Rubber Organization, or ITRO, was set up to implement the plan to help shore up rubber prices, which were at an all-time low. This body operates under the ITRO.

Combined natural rubber production from the three countries represents around 80 percent-85 percent of global rubber supplies.