ID :
60439
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 17:15
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/60439
The shortlink copeid
M`SIA EYES INTRODUCTION OF ASEAN COCOA CONTRACT
KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia hopes the Asean Cocoa Contract
idea, which has dragged on for more than 10 years, can be finalised and
implemented soon, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities,
Hamzah Zainuddin said.
He said the idea was mooted during the second meeting of Asean Cocoa Club
(ACC) in March 1997 but has not been finalised due to the lack of commitment
from Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) members.
"Since trading in cocoa beans among Asean members has been on the uptrend, I
believe that having our own contract terms will further facilitate trade within
Asean," Hamzah told reporters after officiating at the two-day 12th meeting of
the ACC here Wednesday.
The meeting will, among others, discuss the formulation of the contract.
Hamzah said it was relevant to have a regional cocoa contract to ensure
healthy trade practice in the industry and enable the region to receive the
world market recognition.
He said the contract could also be used as an alternative to the other
existing international cocoa contracts.
"I hope this contract can be finalised during this meeting," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Cocoa Board's director-general, Dr Azhar Ismail, said
the ACC secretariat would not initiate any more meeting on the contract if the
current meeting failed to agreed on the matter.
"It is not a cancellation. It will still be on going but it will be
discussed within the private sector and the final inputs will be forwarded to
the meeting for final approval," Dr Azhar, who is also chairman of the ACC, said
in his welcoming address.
The previous ACC meeting had agreed that there were two main points that
needed to be considered in the contract -- enforceability of the contract and
the specification of the quality of the beans.
Malaysia had earlier said the contract should not be restrictive and the
parameter should be a buyer-and-seller agreement.
The country also stressed that the specifications should consider the
existing grades and specifications of cocoa from each member country.
To facilitate the legality of the contract, an arbitration body needs to be
formed.
In 2008, Asean contributed about 16 percent of the total world cocoa
production and about 14 percent to the world cocoa grinding.
Malaysia and Indonesia are ranked among the top cocoa producers in the Asia
and Oceania region, contributing 15 percent of the world total cocoa production.
Price of cocoa beans in the world market currently stood at US$2,500
(US$1=RM3.50) per tonne.
-- BERNAMA
idea, which has dragged on for more than 10 years, can be finalised and
implemented soon, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities,
Hamzah Zainuddin said.
He said the idea was mooted during the second meeting of Asean Cocoa Club
(ACC) in March 1997 but has not been finalised due to the lack of commitment
from Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) members.
"Since trading in cocoa beans among Asean members has been on the uptrend, I
believe that having our own contract terms will further facilitate trade within
Asean," Hamzah told reporters after officiating at the two-day 12th meeting of
the ACC here Wednesday.
The meeting will, among others, discuss the formulation of the contract.
Hamzah said it was relevant to have a regional cocoa contract to ensure
healthy trade practice in the industry and enable the region to receive the
world market recognition.
He said the contract could also be used as an alternative to the other
existing international cocoa contracts.
"I hope this contract can be finalised during this meeting," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Cocoa Board's director-general, Dr Azhar Ismail, said
the ACC secretariat would not initiate any more meeting on the contract if the
current meeting failed to agreed on the matter.
"It is not a cancellation. It will still be on going but it will be
discussed within the private sector and the final inputs will be forwarded to
the meeting for final approval," Dr Azhar, who is also chairman of the ACC, said
in his welcoming address.
The previous ACC meeting had agreed that there were two main points that
needed to be considered in the contract -- enforceability of the contract and
the specification of the quality of the beans.
Malaysia had earlier said the contract should not be restrictive and the
parameter should be a buyer-and-seller agreement.
The country also stressed that the specifications should consider the
existing grades and specifications of cocoa from each member country.
To facilitate the legality of the contract, an arbitration body needs to be
formed.
In 2008, Asean contributed about 16 percent of the total world cocoa
production and about 14 percent to the world cocoa grinding.
Malaysia and Indonesia are ranked among the top cocoa producers in the Asia
and Oceania region, contributing 15 percent of the world total cocoa production.
Price of cocoa beans in the world market currently stood at US$2,500
(US$1=RM3.50) per tonne.
-- BERNAMA
