INRO meeting set for Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 9-13

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct. 9)—Member nations of the moribund International Natural Rubber Organization will meet again in Kuala Lumpur Oct. 9-13 to try and hash out an agreement on what should be done with the group´s 138,000-metric-ton buffer stock. The rubber stockpile—acquired in an attempt to get NR off the market and thus raise prices—must be sold by June 30, 2001, but the INRO mandate to get a reasonable profit on the rubber for members has proven impossible with world prices at rock bottom, and bids have been far below what the organization requested. If INRO can´t get a unanimous agreement on removing the mandate for a profit, a spokesman said, it can pursue several other options, such as selling the rubber to its members. But this would require "many more calculations" as to apportionment and fair pricing, he said. Earlier, Thailand and Malaysia said they might be interested in buying the INRO buffer stock as part of their own program to stabilize world prices.