January 7
The rubber prices are likely to rise due to the lower production of rubber latex in the plantation of farmers in the villages near Thuwanawady town in Thaton Township, Mon State.
“The rubber production was good in the early rubber season. Now the rubber production has plummeted down due to the less soil moisture. Although the price of rubber was K925 per pound at the end of last year, the price has currently increased to K1,000 per pound ecah,” said U Thein Tun, the rubber grower from Htonebogyi village.
“The price of rubber was K1,000 per pound when I started buying in the last 9 months, but later it declined to K850 per pound. Now, we have to buy the rubber for K1,000 per pound again. We have been trading about 15,000 pounds per day. There are also other rubber traders in the town. The rubber price is likely to rise further,” said U Htin Lin Soe, the owner of the Shwe Lathsaung Rubber Trading from Thein Seik ward, Thuwanawady Town.
Nowadays, there are more and more semi-subsistence farmers in the rubber latex collection industry. Although they have faced some difficulties as declined rubber production and more absence of workers, the farmers have been continuously working on the rubber business due to the regular income from the rubber plantation.
Rubber is primarily cultivated in Mon and Kayin states and Taninthayi, Bago, and Yangon regions in Myanmar. As per 2018-2019 rubber seasons’ data, there are over 1.628 million acres of rubber plantations in Myanmar with Mon State accounting for 497,153 acres, followed by Taninthayi Region 348,344 acres and Kayin State with 270,760 acres, according to the MRPPA.
Myanmar annually exports over 200,000 tonnes of raw rubber to foreign countries. — Khun (Winpa)/GNLM
