Rubber Exports Predicted to Increase to 3.2 Million Tons

"Exports could not be boosted because our rubber trees are old," he said, when contacted by Republika, Wednesday (February 8).

According to him, the average age of productive rubber trees in Indonesia is more than 25 years. Therefore, Azis hopes the government may provide assistance in the form of seeds subsidizes so that farmers could start replanting rubber trees.

As for the price of rubber, Azis said that currently the commodity is being priced at 2.8-3 USD per kilogram. Meanwhile, the price at the farmer level could reach IDR 12 thousand to IDR 15 thousand per kilogram.

The figure is quite better than the previous years, when the price of rubber had sharply plunged to below one USD per kilogram. He estimated that the increase in price was due to decreased production of rubber in Thailand and Vietnam because of weather factors.

Azis is optimistic that the favorable condition would sustain, on the condition that the world economy improves. This is because, if the economy grows, the demand for vehicles will increase. Rubber is the main raw material for tire industry.

He said that 82 percent of the world's rubber production is absorbed by the tire industry. "If the economic growth improves, the natural rubber will find its market."

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/ekonomi/korporasi/17/02/08/ol25ay415-ekspor-karet-diprediksi-naik-jadi-32-juta-ton