Thai meeting on INRO membership up in air

Thai meeting on INRO membership up in air

BANGKOK (Reuters): A government panel's meeting to review Thailand's membership in the International Natural Rubber Organization (INRO) ended without a conclusion yesterday.

Members of the Natural Rubber Policy Committee were sharply divided on the issue, Deputy Agriculture Minister Somchai Sunthornwat told reporters.

But other committee sources told Reuters that a decision could not be reached because some members did not want Thailand to lead a walkout from INRO on its own and wanted to secure support from two other major producers -- Indonesia and Malaysia -- before making such a move.

Thailand is the world biggest producer and exporter of natural rubber, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia.

"We could not reach any consensus on the issue today. The panel members are divided over the pros and the cons of such a move," Somchai said.

But he did not elaborate and declined to disclose when a decision would be made by the panel. The committee's decision must be approved by the Thai cabinet.

Those who favor membership withdrawal have charged that the INRO, which groups top world producers and consumers, is ineffective in carrying out its role to support bearish world rubber prices.

A senior Thai official who attended the panel's meeting said one of the reasons Thailand was reluctant to make a decision now was because it did not want to withdraw from the grouping alone.

"Some floated an idea that if Thailand wants to withdraw from INRO, it should consult Indonesia and Malaysia first and, if possible, withdraw as a group of major producers and not as a single country," said the official who asked not to be identified.

"There will be a meeting in August on the issue among the three countries," he said.