Asia's rubber producers join forces to support prices
Reuters, Bangkok
Asia's big rubber producers are joining forces to support prices, but traders are skeptical the effort will be a success.Thailand, the world's top producer and exporter of natural rubber, urged producing nations to raise prices around 20 percent to match synthetic rubber prices of 60 baht a kg. "I will try my best to push prices of natural rubber to rise above 50 baht per kilo to 60 baht per kilo," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told a meeting of eight rubber producing and trading countries in the northern city of Chiang Mai last Saturday. In his speech to the meeting, Thaksin told rubber producing countries to be united as a group to ensure that the rubber price was kept at a "healthy level". Traders were not convinced that Thaksin will be successful in his drive.
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