INDONESIA: Thailand’s plan to release rubber stocks affects local prices

Indonesian rubber farmers have suffered losses from the decline in global rubber prices as their product now sells for IDR 9,000 (USD 67 cents) per kilogram, from IDR 12,000 previously.

Indonesian Rubber Council (Dekarindo) chairman Azis Pane said the price decline was affected by Thailand’s plan to release 125,000 tons of its rubber stock after previously releasing 90,000 tons.

Thailand can greatly affect rubber prices in the international market because it produces large amounts of the product.

“We have to admit that Indonesia cannot influence the rubber market and its products because we produce less than Thailand,” Azis said as reported by kompas.com on Tuesday (7 Mar 2017).

Therefore, he called for the establishment of more industries that used rubber as a raw material so that rubber prices would not be decided by the global market.

Source: Daily “The Jakarta Post”, Jakarta; 7 Mar 2017

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)