International Tripartite Rubber Council Ministerial Committee Meeting 2012
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Phuket, Thailand
The Ministerial Committee Meeting of the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) was held in Phuket, Thailand on Wednesday, 12 December 2012. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Yuttapong Charasathien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of the Kingdom of Thailandand attended by H.E. Gita Wirjawan, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, and H.E. Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodity of Malaysia.
2. The Meeting discussed the developments in the rubber market and its impacts on the economies of the three Countries. The Ministers emphasized the importance of concerted actions by the three Countries to address declining natural rubber (NR) price by implementing the Agreed Export Tonnage Scheme (AETS). The scheme was implemented beginning 1 October 2012 and the Ministers noted the report by the Monitoring and Surveillance Committee (MSC) that all three countries have fully complied.
3. The three Countries currently account for 67% of global production and 79% of global net exports. In addition, the rubber industry in the three Countries is dominated by the smallholding sector and as such continuous efforts need to be undertaken to ensure remunerative income to the smallholders.
4. The Ministers agreed to consider the establishment of a Regional Rubber Market as a long term initiative to provide price discovery and effective hedging functions. The Regional Rubber Market will complement existing futures and physical markets. In this context, the Ministers agreed that a comprehensive study be undertaken on the approach and modality towards realization of the Regional Rubber Market.
5. Noting the importance and achievements of the ITRC and International Rubber Consortium Limited (IRCo), the Ministers agreed to further strengthen the role and functions of these two bodies to meet new challenges.
6. The Ministers invited and welcomed other ASEAN rubber producing Countries to cooperate with ITRC to further strengthen the Cooperation for mutual benefits.
Source: IRCo
