Small plantations cannot afford to pay for their labour force. The Chinese import our rubber because of the lower price, and with that level of quality it’s hard to find another market,” he said.Īt the same time, the pool of farm labour has shrunk, growers say.The low price is compounded by the poor productivity, said MRPPA vice president U Myo Thant. Japan wants to import, and we’ve been in negotiations with them, but will do so only if Myanmar can meet Japan’s quality demands. “Myanmar rubber exports go mostly to China. That doesn’t mean Myanmar’s whole rubber industry is going to shut down,” he said.Nevertheless, low prices do reduce the industry’s income, complicating efforts to improve quality, said U Aung Myint Htoo. Only a few small-scale rubber planters have quit the industry. “If planters chose quality seeds, they could survive. U Aung MyintHtoo, president of the Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA), said that the question of the quality of the seeds that the growers are planting and the rubber that are produced are not related to the global fall in rubber prices. Once the IRA certification is received,international consumers will be able to import Myanmar natural rubber more easily,” he said. “Imports have increased a great deal over the past three years. Kondo also added that Japan has already started importing rubber from Myanmar as the quality improved. The lab staff has already completed training and the equipment have been installed. Later this year, the International Rubber Association (IRA) will certify the lab. A laboratory will be established to certify the quality of natural rubber to international standards. Kondo said that Japan launched a project three years ago to support Myanmar’s natural rubber quality improvement. And Myanmar is very different from other countries in terms of fixing rubber grading,” said Kondo.īut local rubber growers complain that at current world prices, they don’t earn enough income to attract and pay for enough labour force.Ī recent seminar in the Yangon Region on the sustainable natural rubber initiative (SNR-i) allowed industry professionals to share information about the natural rubber supply chain. “While other countries produce 1.5 tonnes of rubber per hectare, Myanmar produces 0.8 tonnes. But an increase in output must also be matched by product quality improvements, Kondo said. Hajime Kondo, manager of Bridgestone’s tyre materials advanced development department, said that Myanmar’s rubber plantations only produce at less than half the international production rate. Myanmar’s position as a serious rubber producing nation is held back by low productivity, sub-par quality and high labour costs, according to experts.
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