In conjunction with the Malaysian Rubber Exchange Annual Dinner held on 6th October 2023, the ASEAN Rubber Business Council (ARBC) had organized two hybrid meetings on 7th October 2023: 29th Assembly of ARBC and Berjaya Times Square Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Virtually, the meetings were held on Zoom. The meeting provided a platform for members to exchange views of common issues concerning rubber trade matters that have impacted all members. Among the important matters discussed in the both meetings were international rubber trade contracts, the current market conditions, issues on international rubber trade as well as the administrative and financial matters of the organisation. The 29th Assembly of ARBC was chaired by the Chairman cum Secretary-General of The Association for Rubber Development of Cambodia, Mr. Men Sopheak while the 29th TCCM Meeting was chaired by Mr Teo Soon Huat from FRTAM.
Representatives from association members of ARBC that attended the meetings physically were Thai Rubber Association (TRA), Rubber Trade Association of Indonesia (GAPKINDO), Association for Rubber Development of Cambodia (ARDC) and Federation of the Rubber Trade Associations of Malaysia (FRTAM). Rubber Trade Association of Singapore (RTAS) attended the meetings both physically and virtually. Meanwhile, Vietnam Rubber Association (VRA) and Myanmar Rubber Producers & Planters Association (MRPPA) attended the meetings on Zoom platform. MRE which is a unit under the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) is a permanent secretariat for ARBC.
The ARBC also received the first visit from the Ivory Coast delegation led by Mr. Djety Allico Thomas D'aquin, Director of Promotion and Competitiveness at the Rubber and Palm Oil Council, Ministry of Agriculture, Côte d'Ivoire and Mr. Meledje Edward Jean Kelvin and Mr. Logouna Mamadou Diomande from Meledje Trading Company. The purpose of the visit is to exchange information on the rubber industry in addition to establishing close relations between the Ivory Coast and the ASEAN Rubber Business Council (ARBC). In the meeting, the ARBC has also invited Ivory Coast to become a member of ARBC+ and has invited Ivory Coast to attend as an observer at the next ARBC meeting in Singapore in March 2024.
