Word: tinning
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...years, the tin market was a model of orderliness. Three countries in Southeast Asia-Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand-account for two-thirds of the world's tin production. Since 1956, they and other producers have had a series of five-year agreements with consuming nations to prevent price fluctuations and stabilize supplies. Last July, however, the consensus fell apart. The Reagan Administration, which does not like deals that distort free markets, declined to sign a new five-year contract...
Prices on the London Metal Exchange then began moving upward, as someone started buying large amounts of tin. At first, no one knew who the buyer was: orders were placed through Marc Rich & Co., a secretive New York commodity trading firm, and executed by Maclaine Watson & Co. Ltd. As the heavy purchases continued, it became apparent that only the world's major producers would have the muscle to control the markets, as well as the financial incentive to risk millions of dollars. Says one industry insider: "The general feeling is that Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand got together and decided...
...fact, Malaysia has already begun a series of informal meetings with the goal of setting up a "Tinpec," a cartel similar to OPEC, that would attempt to control world supplies and prices of tin. It even wanted to supplant the London futures market with one of its own, in its capital city of Kuala Lumpur. As if to show that the cartel was already working, Malaysia announced this month that it plans to cut its production by 25%, to 45,000 tons, thus driving up the price...
...attempt to create a tin cartel is likely to founder on some hard economic realities. The metal is mainly used to plate the steel in so-called tin cans. Canning companies use tin because it resists corrosion that can be caused by acids often found in foods. Tin consumption, however, has been declining for years. More and more food is being packaged in sealed plastic pouches, and tin users are experimenting with such substitute materials as aluminum...
Another roadblock to Tinpec is the U.S., which has stockpiled 200,000 tons of the metal as a strategic reserve to be used in case of war. The tin was bought three decades ago for an average price of only $1.08 per Ib., and the General Services Administration in the past four months has sold 6,470 tons of it for up to $7.49 per Ib. Says Roy Markon, a GSA commissioner: "Why should we be worried about a contrived shortage? It is of great benefit to our sales program and good for the taxpayer...