KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — The Livelihood Rubber Price Mechanism (LRPM) for Smallholders is expected to be finalised this year if agreement and consensus can be achieved from rubber-producing countries.
The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK) said among the main challenges in the LRPM implementation is to get consensus from all 13 member countries under the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), where some member countries are also rubber-consuming countries such as China and Singapore.
The ministry said in its response published on the Parliament website today that the LRPM is among the government’s main agendas discussed among rubber-producing countries under the ANRPC, which are affected by the current low rubber prices compared to the rising production costs and cost of living.
“The government is aware of the issues faced by smallholders. Rubber prices, such as other export-oriented commodities, are influenced by global rubber supply and demand factors.
“Government intervention is not easy and at a minimum level because the country’s rubber production only contributes about 3.3 per cent of the total world production,” it said.
The ministry was replying to a question from Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap) on the proposed introduction of a rubber price mechanism to ensure that the price of natural rubber remains within a specified range to reduce the uncertainty of world rubber prices.
Touching on the RM2.3 billion loss in the gross domestic product (GDP) when rubber estates covering 425,000 hectares nationwide failed to produce the commodity asked by Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar), KPK said the government is committed to addressing the issue comprehensively.
The Malaysian Rubber Board has taken action to examine and determine the exact areas and locations.
“Besides that, the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) is also in the process of conducting a census which is expected to determine the locations of smallholders with untapped plantations.
“Data on the untapped 425,000 hectares will be updated and determined accurately,” added the ministry.
— Bernama
