Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) has partnered with the Rubber Authority of Thailand to produce its own tyre brand called TH-Tyre in the hopes of stimulating the use of locally grown and tapped natural rubber. The two bodies also teamed up with local tyre manufacturer Deestone Co.,Ltd. for the production of the tyres, which debuted in the Thai market last month.
Tyres sold under the TH-Tyre brand will contain more natural rubber sourced from trees, according to a statement released by the Government Public Relations Department (PRD) of Thailand. While a standard tyre may contain just 10% natural rubber, a TH-Tyre reportedly contains as much as 45% natural rubber.
The TH-Tyre range includes car and van/light commercial tyres, motorcycle tyres and truck tyres. According to the PRD statement, the costs 20-30% less than other brands and is more durable.
By stimulating demand for Thai natural rubber through the sales of the TH-Tyre, the Rubber Authority of Thailand and the MOAC hope to raise rubber prices and improve the income received by local rubber farmers.
While Thailand is one of the world’s top rubber exporters and produced 4.47 million tonnes of rubber in the last two years, only 600,000 tonnes, or 13.42% of this total, was used domestically. The Thai automotive industry accounted for 56.48% of domestic demand, using a total of 340,000 tonnes.