Thai seeks greater U.S. rubber share

Thai seeks greater U.S. rubber share

BANGKOK (Dow Jones): Thailand's Deputy Agriculture and
Cooperatives Minister Arkom Angchuan will meet with large rubber
users in the U.S., seeking a larger portion of the U.S. market
for Thai rubber.

Arkom said that he will promote Thai rubber to automobile
manufacturers, tire makers and rubber traders, seeking to regain
market share lost to Indonesia.

In the first 11 months of 1999, the U.S. was Thailand's second
largest rubber importer, after Japan, with Thailand exporting
180,964 metric tons of rubber to the U.S., according to an
official report from the Rubber Research Institute.

The U.S. is the world's largest natural rubber consumer.

Thailand is the world's largest natural rubber exporter,
followed by Indonesia.

The U.S. has recently turned to Indonesian rubber for cheaper
prices, but Arkom didn't say how much market share was lost to
Indonesia.

Standard Thai rubber grade 20 was quoted at 65.50-67.50 U.S.
cents a kilogram Thursday while standard Indonesian rubber grade
20 was quoted at 62.30-62.80 cents/kg.

"We have to create a relationship with the users and traders
in the U.S. to convince them to buy Thai rubber," Arkom said,
adding that the users can contact the government's sale agent
directly for purchases.