Three countries consider export curbs to stabilise rubber prices

Prices fall: A file picture showing a worker collecting latex at a plantation in Jember, Indonesia. Rubber futures in Tokyo dropped 19 this year and Thai prices fell 5.2 as concerns about a supply shortage due to floods in Thailand eased. – Reuters

BANGKOK: Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are considering curbs on natural rubber exports to stabilise prices.

Excessive speculation resulted in “unfair prices” for both producers and consumers and there’s concern about recent price volatility, the International Rubber Consortium said in a statement yesterday. The group is the operating arm of the International Tripartite Rubber Council, which represents governments and exporters from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Rubber futures in Tokyo dropped 19% this year and Thai prices fell 5.2% as concerns about a supply shortage due to floods in Thailand eased. The three countries last year agreed to reduce exports by 700,000 tonnes to boost prices.

Together, they account for about 70% of global exports. “Prices are below fundamentals,” Titus Suksaard, governor of the Rubber Authority of Thailand, said at a joint media briefing in Bangkok. Production from top exporters is poised to decline this year, while demand remains strong with increasing car sales in China, Europe and Japan, he said.

Detailed plans are yet to be discussed and get final approval from ministers of the three countries, said Salmiah Ahmad, the consortium’s chief executive officer.

Rubber for September delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange climbed 6.4% to 216 yen (US$1.98) a kilogram, the

biggest gain for the most-active contract since Nov 21. Thai export prices rose 2.3% to 76.3 baht (US$2.22) a kilogram.

Rubber futures in Singapore fell 0.3 percent.– Bloomberg