Vietnam to Attend ITRC Meeting

Thailand’s Agriculture Deputy Minister Natthawut Saikua said Vietnam has basically agreed to become an observer to the upcoming meeting of the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) slated for opening in Thailand in December 2012. This indicates the possibility that Vietnam, the world’s fourth largest rubber producer, will become a new member of the council.

 

Founded 10 years ago, ITRC consists of three major rubber producing countries in the world, namely Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, with the primary objective of stabilising rubber prices. Vietnam is now the 4th largest rubber producer in the world with an annual output of 500,000 tonnes and plans to increase production to 1 million tonnes by 2023. If Vietnam agrees to participate, ITRC members will account for 80 per cent of world’s rubber export.