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Malaysia to pump in cash to support rubber prices
Kuala Lumpur
The Malaysian government said on Friday that it plans to allocate 80 million ringgit in 2000 to keep rubber prices at a "reasonable level". Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin announced the spending plan in a speech to parliament outlining the government's 2000 budget. "For rubber smallholders whose income has been adversely affected by the decline in prices, the government has allocated 80 million ringgit to support rubber prices at a reasonable level," Daim said. To increase the income of rubber smallholders, he said a total of 201 million ringgit was planned to be allocated for replanting programmes covering 45,000 hectares in 2000. The government had earlier this year implemented the Special Rubber Purchasing Scheme to help some 400,000 small growers tide over a price slump.Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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