Give rubber industry a boost — Loren

by Bernadette E. Tamayo
Friday, 29 January 2010 20:35

SEN. Loren Legarda yesterday pushed for the strengthening of the local rubber industry to promote economic development, more employment and higher income for its stakeholders.

She said House Bill 2435 creating the Philippine Rubber Research Institute, once enacted into law, would “institutionalize the research and development of rubber as a high-value commercial crop to position the country as a major player in the global billion-dollar rubber industry which, in the process, would benefit small-holder rubber producers and processors.”

Legarda noted that the global demand for rubber has skyrocketed at a tremendous pace over the years, just as the world supply for rubber from Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, has also been climbing progressively.

“The products from natural rubber are premier export commodities exacting premium prices in the international trade. Little wonder then that just as the Arabs have their black gold in the form of oil, we in Asia have started referring to rubber as our white gold,” Legarda, chair of the committee on food and agriculture, said.

“However, the worldwide supply for rubber cannot keep up with the increasing demand. Study shows that worldwide rubber production of 6.59 million tons in 2006 will increase to about 264 percent or to 17.4 million tons by 2010, and to more than 426.4 percent or 28.1 million tons by 2020. Yet, the projected increase in rubber production this year will still fall short of the 31.8 million metric tons of projected global demand for latex, rubber plates and related rubber products,” she said.

Source: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/national/2018-give-rubber-industry-a-boost--loren.html