A charity webinar was recently held in Brazil to address the rubber crisis faced by various sources in Latin America, caused by COVID-19 pandemic, and reinforced the importance of positive interaction(s) to relay important information along the “production chain” in the Latin American rubber sector. The event was jointly organised by the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG), the Brazilian Association of Rubber Technology (ABTB), the Paulista Association of Natural Rubber Producers and Beneficiaries (APABOR), the National Association of Pneumatic Industries (ANIP), and the Latin American Society of Rubber Technology (SLTC). It included participants 13 countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, the US, and Spain.
The event begun with Salvatore Pinizzotto, Secretary-General IRSG, talking about the need to “reimagine” the Natural Rubber Productive Chain: Pinizzotto explained how said chain has been negatively impacted by the current COVID-19 crisis, especially by the tyre industry – these include reductions in forecasts for world GDP and the consequent contraction in consumption.
Pinizzotto said companies and organisations in the rubber sector should rethink their business model as they return to full. “This is a unique opportunity for all stakeholders involved in the natural rubber economy to be innovative and through innovation to foster resilience, adaptability and long-term sustainability.”
There were also presentations by engineer Yvette Richards, speaking about subsidies for plans to stock raw materials in the field; she also showed examples from the history of the storage of Brazilian natural rubber from its early extraction in the Amazon to the present day.
Gunther Lotmman, a specialist in natural rubber, similarly presented the participants with the possibilities of product innovation and added value, and questioned the need to create a “diversified” market strategy by varying products for tyres with auto parts, the medical industry and even environmental services; the launch of the SLTC Innovation Committee, of which Lottmann is Director, left the basis for building these alternatives.
Finally, Diogo Esperante, Executive director of APABOR, pointed out that in addition to the great opportunity to bring pertinent information and help Brazilian rubber tappers, the event facilitates another step in the integration of the Latin American Natural Rubber Market. “One day, we can speak not about Brazilian, Colombian, Mexican or Guatemalan rubber, but on behalf of a Latin American rubber!”
All the income collected during the charity event went to APABOR’s Solidarity Program, which has a project to distribute “Basic Baskets” to the families of Brazilian rubber tappers who are presently being hard hit by the interruption of the natural rubber trade in Brazil – about 1800 families have received food and hygiene kits through the initiative (ANIP is responsible for the donation of 1,500 basic food baskets).
“We believe in group work, where the union of efforts always brings more benefits to everyone. For this reason, we are very pleased to participate, together with APABOR in this solidarity action that allows us to help a greater number of people in this difficult time,” said Klaus Curt Müller, Executive president of ANIP.