Global rubber prices are near their lowest levels in several years on worries about a slowing economy in China, forcing the world's top natural rubber producers to consider joint action to support prices.
But Sunny Verghese, chief executive of Singapore-based Olam,said he expected China to deplete its stockpile in the next 6-12months.
Chinese inventory in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange has hit its highest level since 2004, while closely-watched stocks in bonded warehouses in the port of Qingdao are estimated by dealers at around 304,000 tonnes,compared with around 250,000 tonnes in October.
"If China grows at 7-7.5 percent, we should see rubber demand coming back," Verghese said on the sidelines of a rubber conference in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
"Excess stocks currently present will take 6-12 months to work out, after which we will see a more balanced supply-demand condition." (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Jo Winterbottom)