ASEAN industry authorities on June 20 wrapped up a conference on the sustainable development of rubber industriy in each member country in Vientiane, Laos.

During the two-day meeting, participants discussed issues related to production, research and innovations on rubber plantation and processing as well as the world's natural rubber demand and supply trends, and the future price.

Solutions to improve the economic competitive edge of rubber as a way to minimise negative impacts from the world’s price turbulences and improvement of social and environmental conditions for further development of the rubber industry in the region were also put on the agenda.

According to the Vientiane Times, the conference is also an important event for Laos to collect opinions from foreign experts to design a national policy on rubber development in Laos.

Laos has experienced a boom in rubber plantations over the past four or five years in response to market demand for rubber from neighbouring countries. At present, the country has more than 180,000 hectares of rubber./.