THE Philippine government is bent on increasing the country’s rubber production to partake in meeting the growing demand in the world market.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the local rubber production is expected to hike up by 3.7% in the next 10 years, showing an intensified effort to contribute more to the global rubber production and become competitive.
Currently, the Philippines is chipping in a little over 1% of the world’s rubber production, with its output coming mainly from small-farm of 3 to 10 hectares of land.
The small share, however, is not a deterrent to the country’s target output. Alcala said that the vast areas of production and the technical knowledge available to the local rubber planters will eventually lead to the country becoming a major player in the industry.
He also said that the agriculture agency is utilising technologies as well as upgrade processing facilities to improve the quality of the local produce; notwithstanding that it is also extending financial, infrastructure and other support services to the rubber stakeholders.(RJA)
Asia's First E-Magazine for the Rubber Industry