Rubber Price Increase Good News From ANRPC Meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- The benchmark SMR 20 rubber price increase from US$1.37 (RM5) to US$1.52 (RM5.54) a kg is a good development emanated from the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) meeting in the capital recently, the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House of Parliament) was told Wednesday. (US$1 = RM3.63) Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said the meeting of the 11 member states, which produced 92 per cent of the world's rubber, reflected a solidarity in finding a solution to the decline in rubber prices. "After the meeting, Vietnam agreed to become a member of the International Tripartite Rubber Council, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. "The cooperation among the four member states that produce 70 per cent of the world's rubber can become an impetus to boost rubber prices," he said when responding to a supplementary question from Dr Mansor Abd Rahman (BN-Sik). To Dr Mansor's original question, Uggah said one of the measures taken by the ministry to protect the welfare of rubber smallholders was raising their income through the sale of sawn rubber wood, apart from rubber cup lump and latex production. The ministry is also striving to increase rubber wood export quota from 80,000 cubic metres in 2014 to 140,000 cubic meters in 2015 and implement rubber wood branding strategy through the Malaysian Timber Industry Board, he added. -- BERNAMA