The three major world rubber producers of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are targeting to set up a regional rubber market within the next 18 months. Malaysia’s Plantation Industry and Commodities Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the framework for the rubber futures market is completed, but it still needs some fine-tuning. The regional rubber market would provide a platform for better price discovery and effective hedging functions for rubber producers, consumers and market players, he said, speaking at a press conference after the international tripartite rubber council ministerial committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, recently.