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.
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. But an increase in output must also be matched by product quality improvements, Kondo said. “While other countries produce 1.5 tonnes of rubber per hectare, Myanmar produces 0.8 tonnes. And Myanmar is very different from other countries in terms of fixing rubber grading,” said Kondo.
But local rubber growers complain that at current world prices, they don’t earn enough income to attract and pay for enough labour force.
A 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.
Kondo said that Japan launched a project three years ago to support Myanmar’s natural rubber quality improvement. A laboratory will be established to certify the quality of natural rubber to international standards. Later this year, the International Rubber Association (IRA) will certify the lab. The lab staff has already completed training and the equipment have been installed.
Kondo also added that Japan has already started importing rubber from Myanmar as the quality improved. “Imports have increased a great deal over the past three years. Once the IRA certification is received,international consumers will be able to import Myanmar natural rubber more easily,” he said.
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.
“If planters chose quality seeds, they could survive. Only a few small-scale rubber planters have quit the industry. 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.
“Myanmar rubber exports go mostly to China. 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. 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.
At 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. Small plantations cannot afford to pay for their labour force. “It’s hard to improve rubber quality and get good labour as well,” he said.
According to U Myo Aung, managing director of Yoma Top company, which exports natural rubber to Hong Kong and India, local tyre companies were seeking to buy more rubber.More than 90% of Myanmar rubber is exported, mostly to China. But the higher prices being offered by local customers are a good sign, said U Myo Aung.
According to the MRPPA, there are 734,436 acres (293,774 hectares) under cultivation, producing 227,533 metric tonnes in the current year.