“Progress” reported on natural rubber bourse

Bangkok – The International Rubber Consortium (IRCo) has reported that a meeting of major rubber producers on 1 April has brought about “progress” in the talks over the establishment of a regional rubber market (RRM).

The meeting, held among the three members of the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) – Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia – as well as other major rubber producers such as Vietnam and Laos, was aimed at advancing decisions regarding the set-up of the market.

“The meeting agreed that ITRC and IRCo would develop a spot/physical rubber market to serve the global rubber market ‘as soon as possible’,” said IRCo in an announcement.

The Reuters news agency reported earlier in March that the Singapore Exchange (SGX) was in preliminary talks to be part of the rubber exchange.

UK-based consultancy LMC International is currently conducting a study on the viability of such a regional exchange. According to Reuters ITRC is inclined to wait for the results of the study before making further decisions.