RISDA, or The Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority, thinks Malaysia should export rubber trees that are no longer productive.
RISDA chairman Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin is referring to aged rubber trees which are abandoned due to low rubber prices in the country.
“Rather than waste them, Risda will propose to the government that they be exported,” he told a press conference after a dialogue with Perlis rubber smallholders.
The RISDA chairman also said that the government is thinking about lowering the processing fee to bring in foreign workers. “Smallholders have expressed their [complaints] over the payment to bring in foreign workers, which exceeds RM270 per person, in the face of falling rubber prices. The issue will be resolved immediately,” he said.
The government now urges rubber smallholders to produce more rubber latex, since it’s more profitable than scrap rubber. They’re also urged to plant other crops to increase their profit.
“The smallholders have also been urged to optimise their land by growing for instance, vegetables and herbs, which could generate additional income for them,” he said.
In the face of the rubber crisis, RISDA is request the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to increase the rubber subsidy, to encourage smallholders to keep producing rubber.