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20 April 2010
The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) convened for the 106th Group Meeting in Qingdao, China, during 19-20 March 2009. Prior to this, the joint 2010 World Rubber Summit (WRS) and 5th China Rubber Conference was held on 16-17 March 2010 with a field trip on 18 March.
The Opening Address for the 2010 World Rubber Summit and 5th China Rubber Conference was delivered by the Mr Qin Min, Deputy Mayor of Qingdao Municipal Government. He said that it was not only a great event for the China rubber industry, but also a joyous occasion for the city of Qingdao. Mr Qin expressed warm congratulations to the opening of this forum and added that Qingdao is an important economic centre and port city in the eastern coastal part of China. The Qingdao Bonded Zone has become an important trading and pricing centre for bulk commodities in China. On behalf of Qingdao Municipal People’s Government, Mr Qin Min thanked China Rubber Industry Association and International Rubber Study Group, and said that he sincerely hoped to strengthen communication and deepen cooperation with friends in the rubber industry both at home and abroad to realise a “win-win” co-development with Qingdao.
The theme of the joint conference selected in September 2009 was Differing roads to recovery: managing the challenges. The session themes included: Development in tyre and non-tyre industry; New material and product development; Oil and feedstock scenarios; Natural rubber production and climate change and The outlook for the world rubber industry. An excellent selection of speakers from within China and abroad contributed to the interesting discussions on the challenges of the current financial and economic situations around the world. The presentations are available from the IRSG website for IRSG members and at a reasonable charge for non-members.
The 106th Group Meeting was opened by the Chair of the IRSG, Mr Saint-Cyr Djikalou, representing Côte d’Ivoire. Mr Djikalou acknowledged the role of China in the successful partnership and thanked China Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) for the excellent co-operation in co-organising the two-day conference and field trip. He highlighted a statement made on 16th March by CRIA and the Qingdao Municipal Government on the need for greater co-operation between producers and consumers and hoped that China would soon become a Member government of IRSG. He commended IRSG for deliverance of impressive service and thanked Dr Hidde Smit for his five years of service and for implementation of the ‘Forecasting Models’. Looking forward to better times, Mr Djikalou welcomed Dr Stephen Evans and his new ideas and experience to move IRSG to new heights. He welcomed the participation of Observer Governments in the 106th Group Meeting adding that this is an opportune time to become a Member of IRSG. Finally, Mr Djikalou expressed appreciation to Partner Organisations and wished all a successful meeting.
At the Statistical Committee session of the 106th Group Meeting, Member governments discussed consumption and production figures for 2008 and 2009. World elastomer consumption in 2008 was estimated at 22.8 million tonnes, comprising of 10.2 million tonnes of natural rubber (NR) and 12.6 million tonnes of synthetic rubber (SR); NR production reached 10.0 million tonnes in 2008, while output of SR was 12.8 million tonnes. In 2009, the IRSG Secretariat expects world elastomer consumption to have declined by around 6% to 21.4 million tonnes, comprising 9.5 million tonnes of NR and 11.9 million tonnes of SR; meanwhile, production of NR and SR is estimated at 9.6 million tonnes and 12.2 million tonnes, respectively.
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