IRSG focus stays steady throughout its evolution

SINGAPORE—Seventy-five years after its founding, the International Rubber Study Group continues to evolve as an analytical, statistical and forecasting body serving the natural and synthetic rubber industries, according to its current secretary general.

"The IRSG is now the sole multilateral body dedicated to discussing the many issues that affect natural rubber and synthetic rubber production, usage, trade and recycling," Salvatore Pinizzotto said about the IRSG, which formed in August 1944 in an agreement between the U.S., the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

The IRSG is careful to balance the activities it devotes to NR and SR, according to Pinizzotto.

"Both are equally important to understand the current and future dynamics of the rubber sector," he said.

To improve its analytical capabilities, Pinizzotto said the ISRG has strengthened its exchange of information with national rubber associations worldwide; collaborates with the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries; and has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers.

"All these activities have considerably increased the accuracy of IRSG statistics, making the IRSG publications—the Rubber Monthly Bulletin, the Rubber Statistical Bulletin, the Rubber Industry Report and Rubber Focus—an indispensable tool for everyone that operates or has a keen interest in the world rubber industry," he said.

Evolving over time

In 1947, the newly formed United Nations Conference on Trade and Development extended IRSG membership to "all governments substantially interested in the production and consumption of rubber," according to a history of the group written by Philip J. Watson, IRSG chief statistician from 1979 to 2002 and posted on its website.

By that time, France had joined the IRSG as its fourth member. Today, the IRSG has 36 member countries as well as 120 members in its Panel of Associates, comprising national rubber associations, tire and rubber product makers, rubber industry suppliers and rubber traders.

"The group will meet from time to time to discuss common problems arising from the production, manufacture, and use of rubber, crude, synthetic and reclaimed," the IRSG's charter said.

The idea of a non-regulatory body serving the rubber industry was novel in 1944, according to Watson. Before the IRSG were the "Stevenson Scheme," which ran from 1921 to 1928, and the International Rubber Regulation Agreement from 1934 to 1944, both of which sought to achieve price stability for natural rubber, he said.

Forming the IRSG was "in response to the expected practicalities of the postwar (rubber) situation," Watson said.

"From its earliest years, the (IRSG) secretariat had the advice and guidance of many government standing committees, especially in the areas of statistics and market development," he said.

The IRSG started out with a Statistical Committee, a Development Committee, and a Packaging and Marketing Committee, according to Watson. By the early 1970s it had a Committee of Expert Rubber Statisticians, and in 1983 it added an Economic Committee assisted by the Industry Advisory Panel, he said.

In 1962 the IRSG had its first symposium, a three-day event with 24 presentations and attendees from both government and industry. This was a forerunner of the group's current World Rubber Summit, Watson said.

The IRSG established its Panel of Associates in 1990, under then-Secretary General Tan Sri Dr. B.C. Sekhar, to strengthen the group's ties to all aspects of the world rubber industry, according to Watson.

"This involvement has enabled over the years industrial organizations, companies and rubber associations to access the information and publications of the group," he said.

"The strengthening provided by the Panel of Associates to the structure of the IRSG has put the group at the forefront as an information source for natural and synthetic rubber and its end-uses," he said.

The combination of member governments and the Panel of Associates has allowed the IRSG to provide significant contributions to the understanding of the global rubber industry, according to Watson.

"There is still a continuation of the search for acceptable solutions to problems of worldwide rubber production and consumption as seen at the World Rubber Summits, which have been evident since the group's inception some 75 years ago," he said.

Current focuses

According to Pinizzotto, the IRSG's current mandate is based on:

• Promoting international cooperation and developing initiatives;

• Providing a global forum and platform for the world's rubber sector; and

• Increasing the levels of market transparency and seeking solutions along the value chain.

"The future of both types of rubber lies in developing raw materials tailored more closely to the requirements of the manufacturer and produced to very high standards of technical quality and consistency," he said.

In recent years, the IRSG has placed itself at the forefront of the issue of sustainability in the rubber economy, according to Pinizzotto.

Together with other stakeholders, the IRSG developed the Sustainable Natural Rubber Initiative, which today has 60 self-registered organizations among its members, he said.

"Since March 2019, IRSG has a wider sustainability agenda that covers both natural and synthetic rubber and the end-of-life products," he said.

The IRSG agenda is based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which embrace a universal approach based on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, Pinizzotto said.

Two important initiatives the IRSG has made in sustainability are the memorandum of understanding it signed with the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber and its letter of intent with the Forests, Trees and Agroforestry Research Program (FTA) of the global agricultural innovation network CGIAR.

"The MOU signed with GPSNR is important because it gives the two organizations the opportunity to work closely together and really drive the natural rubber economy toward a sustainable path," Pinizzotto said.

The letter of intent with the FTA denotes a decision for the two organizations to collaborate on issues related to the sustainability of natural rubber production, with an eye toward joint proposals on resource mobilization, the IRSG said in an announcement at the time the letter was signed.

These are not the only important initiatives the IRSG has launched in collaboration with other organizations, according to Pinizzotto.

One new initiative is #IRSGforResearch, a call for papers for rubber-related economic research, he said.

"This award aims to promote high-quality research on emerging issues in the global rubber sector," Pinizzotto said. "We would like to engage young economists and researchers in the assessment of socio-economic issues affecting the rubber sector globally."

The first-year topic for the award is, "How can rubber smallholders achieve sustainable development through rubber farming?" The deadline for submission of papers is Dec. 13, and the prize for the winner is 3,000 Singapore dollars ($2,180 U.S.), Pinizzotto said.

The IRSG also is into the second year of its Photo Competition. The first-year theme for the competition was "Women in Rubber," and the theme this year is "Rubber is a Community," according to Pinizzotto.

"The photo competition should tell a story or emphasize the concept of a communal life that involves rubber as a source, in its process or as a final product," he said.

The contest is open to everyone, although entrants under 18 must obtain parental consent, Pinizzotto said. Entries are due by Feb. 28, and three prizes of 500, 250 and 100 Singapore dollars ($365, $182.50 and $73 U.S.) will be awarded, he said.