§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry what progress is being made in discussions about a commodity 804W agreement for natural rubber; and what is the United Kingdom position in this matter.
§ Mr. Cryer:Discussions on a possible international commodity agreement to stabilise the price of natural rubber have been going on since January 1977 under the auspices of the UNCTAD Integrated Programme. The Secretary-General of UNCTAD has said that of the commodities discussed under the Integrated Programme only in rubber has there been a detailed and constructive dialogue.
At the UNCTAD Second Preparatory Meeting on natural rubber at Geneva in June 1977, the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), which supply the vast majority of natural rubber for world markets, submitted a proposal for a price stabilisation scheme based on the creation of a 400,000 tonne buffer stock. Rubber would be sold by the stock to protect the price ceiling and bought to defend the floor. Floor and ceiling prices would also be protected by production controls under this proposal. To date, the ANRPC proposal is the only detailed proposal tabled.
Countries attending the Second Preparatory Meeting agreed to set up an inter-governmental Task Force
to bring the analytical phase…to a successful completion and to prepare within a definite time frame for the next phase including decisions with regard to the negotiation of a possible commodity agreement for natural rubber.The Task Force will make recommendations to a Third Preparatory Meeting to be called in February 1978.
The first of the Task Force meetings took place in Geneva from 10th-21st October. Detailed discussion centred on the ANRPC proposals and in particular the composition of the buffer stock and the efficacy of production controls. The outcome of the meeting was an agreed statement to the effect that some progress had been made.
… the Task Force was able to discern clear directions on which consensus may be considered possible and practicable.A second meeting of the Task Force is to be held from 6th-9th December.
The United Kingdom, together with its partners in the EEC and other principal consuming countries, has participated in all these discussions in a positive and 805W open-minded way. The Government welcome the friendly and constructive spirit in which the meetings have been conducted. The Government are studying the proposals in the light of the information provided by the work of the Task Force. The aim of the Government is to secure a fair, long-lasting and, above all, effective solution to the problems of natural rubber. There is as yet no commitment to take part in negotiation of a price stabilisation agreement, and indeed no decision has yet been reached that such a negotiation should take place. The Government are nevertheless heartened by the real though modest progress which has been achieved so far in the discussions between producers and consumers.