Compulsory auctioning of rubber?

Wednesday, 27 July 2011 00:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Cheranka Mendis

Minister of Plantations Mahinda Samasinghe last week said that he has taken the decision to investigate the possibility of having a compulsory auction system like in the tea industry.

“I know this is the kind of thing that is not very popular amongst the crowd, but I think it’s important that we discuss such new initiatives in a transparent manner so that we could investigate putting such a system in place in the context of ensuring greater sustainability in the industry and greater distribution of income coming from the industry,” Samarasinghe said, addressing the Annual General Meeting of the Ceylon Rubber Traders Association.

The Minister said a final decision had not been made yet, but that the possibilities of doing so were presently being investigated at length.

“There are some countries that have this and we are investigating the position and experiences of the auction systems and looking at best practices in the world,” Samarasinghe said. “We will then hold discussions with stakeholders and look at the benefits of going into such a system,” he added.