The governments of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to implement the Agreed Export Tonnage Scheme (AETS) beginning March 1, 2016. Under the AETS, the three countries will cut exports by 615,000 tonnes of NR for the period of six months from 1 March – 31 August 2016.
The three countries are part of the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC)—the council that made the announcement.
In the press release, the ITRC expresses concern on the recent trend in declining Natural Rubber (NR) prices which has a direct effect on the income of rubber smallholders in our three countries.
In addition to address the oversupply of NR, the council also agreed to increase domestic consumption of NR. These include the use of NR for road construction, rail pads for railway construction and other suitable areas.
With joint implementation of these measures, the council is optimistic that rubber prices will recover and continue to be fair and remunerative to all smallholders and other stakeholders in the NR industry. This implementation will be closely monitored by the ITRC Monitoring Committee.