The secretary-general of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), Sheela Thomas, stressed India’s need to strengthen its domestic supply base of rubber at a time whenrubber exporting countries are fast becoming rubber-consuming nations.
According to Thomas, if this trend continues, the surplus availability of rubber for export from these countries might come down in the long run.
Thomas was speaking at the TESS conference organised on the golden jubilee of the Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee, technical wing of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association.
Rubber and tyre manufacturing operations are being pursued with diligence and even incentivised by Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
While global consumption of rubber is expected to grow less than 4% this year, consumption is expected to grow 8.3% in Thailand, 12.4% in Indonesia and 17.6% in Vietnam. The industrial policies in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are focused on attracting investments in downstream rubber goods manufacturing, she said.
Sounding a cautionary note, she said the continued economic slowdown in different markets and a fall in commodity prices might lead us to believe that there is overcapacity in raw materials. However, that might be a false assumption, she noted.
Thomas invited the industry to be a part of the new initiative called ‘ANRPC Public-Private Forum’, which entails fruitful dialogue involving the downstream manufacturing industry, synthetic rubber industry, producers of natural rubber, and policy-makers in rubber producing countries, for a sustainable natural rubber industry.
“As emerging economies grow and there is rising demand for more resources — the choice is clear. Either we deplete resources fast or we adopt a sustainable path,” she added.