Despite favourable climate, Arakan State’s rubber industry underwhelms

By DMG 19 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
19 February 2022, Sittwe

Arakan State has a suitable climate for growing rubber, but local rubber ventures remain relatively low as businesspeople opt for quicker returns on their investments, according to U Khaing Myint, secretary of the Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA).

Most businesspeople in the state are not interested in rubber plantations because they are a long-term investment, he told DMG.

“A rubber plantation is not the kind of business that earns money immediately. Investors have to spend their money for seven years at least, including expenditure for fertiliser, until they can gather rubber latex. So, most Arakanese businesspeople are not interested in this business,” he explained.

Arakan State’s rubber growers ought to form a statewide association and the national-level MRPPA will provide help for them, he added.

“Rubber planters in Arakan State need to form an association. Then, they can submit their needs to us and we can provide help by connecting them with relevant government [officials],” he said.

Ko Zaw Myint, a rubber planter in Taungup Township, said Arakan State’s rubber planters face multiple challenges, from sourcing seeds to current market conditions.

“We have to place an order for seedlings from Mawlamyine [in Mon State]. And we do not have enough labour. As for the market, we have to send the rubber latex sheets to Yangon,” he said.

Rubber planters and producers in Mon State, where the local industry is more developed, said prices have been variable but demand has remained consistent in recent years.

“The price of rubber latex is different each year, but we can sell it every year because there are always buyers,” said a rubber planter and producer in Mon State.

Rubber is widely grown in Mon State and Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar’s southernmost territories. Most of the rubber produced is exported to China, according to local rubber industry stakeholders.

There are 589 acres of rubber plantations in Arakan State, with Thandwe District hosting most of that acreage, according to the state’s Forest Department.