The Thai government has asked rubber exporters to halt shipments and a state body overseeing the sector will meet next week to look at further ways to support prices, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.
Rubber prices hit record highs in mid-February but have plunged this month as doubts grew over demand and the global economy, in reaction first to unrest in the Middle East and then to last week's devastating earthquake in Japan.
"I will call an urgent meeting on Monday to discuss how to push rubber prices higher so they stay at those high levels," Suthep told parliament on Thursday.
The government had already asked exporters to halt exports and keep rubber in stock, he said, adding that they had around 300,000 tonnes of smoked rubber sheet (RSS3) in stock now.
Thailand is the world's biggest rubber producer and exporter. Major rubber exporters said they had stopped offering rubber in new deals but that was due as much to the volatility in prices as to the request from the government.
Tokyo rubber futures, which set the global trend, jumped as much as 8 percent on Thursday to 399.0 yen ($4.94) per kg, with dealers citing heavy buying by investment funds after prices climbed above major resistance at 390 yen. Even though prices have picked up from the lows, the top three rubber producers - Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia - are looking for ways to push them higher.
However, a meeting of the International Rubber Consortium (IRCo), which brings together rubber industry officials, exporters and government officials from the three countries, has been pushed back from this week.