RJA August 2012 Feature - Natural Rubber

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Rubber Journal Asia Natural Rubber

The future of natural rubber hinges on research During a roundtable discussion at the World Rubber Summit 2012 held on May 22 to 24 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore, organisational leaders from natural rubber-producing countries discussed matters affecting the supply of natural rubber. It was gleaned that yield improvement appeared to be the silver bullet, according to Lyn Cacha in this report.

Overview of the problems in the region y 2020, the world will have consumed 36.7 million tonnes of rubber and 16.4 million tonnes of it will be natural rubber, according to the latest figures from Singapore-based research body International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). By then, 91% of natural rubber will be supplied by Asia-Pacific countries. Yet, despite recent increased supply of latex, the total harvests of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for more than 60% of global production of natural rubber, has not come close to meeting the inexhaustible demand. Synthetic rubber, which is expected by some industry observers to augment natural rubber demand, has also its weaknesses. According to Dr Asril Sutan Amir, Chairman of the Indonesian Rubber Association (Gapkindo), synthetic rubber, which is a by-product of the oil industry, is also greatly affected by the supply and cost of petrol, global warming and socio-economics. On the contrary, D r P o n g s a k K e r d v o n g b u n d i t , Honorary President of the Thai Rubber Association perceives the two types of rubber as complementary while each has its different uses. He briefly enumerated some facts concerning the natural rubber industry in Thailand. “Firstly, no matter what the state of the economy is, demand and production of natural rubber will always go up. Secondly, there are no new plantations being planted because some countries have shifted to oil palm production and thirdly, there are less suitable planting areas in Laos and Myanmar. And lastly, 30% of the new plantations in northeast Thailand will fail because of premature tapping and unsuitable land.”

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L-R: Dr Asril Sutan Amir, Chairman, Indonesia Rubber Association; Sheela Thomas, Chairman, Rubber Board of India; Dr Pongsak Kerdvongbundit, President, Thailand Rubber Association; Dato Aliasak Ambia, President, National Association of Smallholders in Malaysia

Thailand started planting rubber in the northeast about seven years ago, expanding from traditional planting areas in the south, which is running out of space. Currently, output from the northeast accounts for less than 10% of total national output, Pongsak said. “In the south, we can only replant, as there’s no available land for new plantations.” Thailand’s rubber production this year may total around 3.5 million tonnes as rains in the south, which represents 80% of local supplies, have disrupted tapping. The country produced 3.57 million tonnes last year, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand. Based on the world economy, volatility in demand and climate change, Sheela Thomas, Chairman of the Rubber Board of India (RBI), who has yet to round up capacity estimates for natural rubber demand for the coming years, said that in India, the erratic planting and replanting of rubber trees from 1997 to 2003 has also affected supply in the country. In India, there is a gap between the consumption and production of natural rubber. At present, the country produces 75,000 to 100,000 tonnes/year of natural rubber and imports 120,000 to 150,000 tonnes/year. Kerala accounts for the major share of the rubber production in the country. 5

AUGUST 2012

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