LETTERS: Many have provided compelling evidence on the deteriorating state of the rubber industry. Plantation companies have mostly abandoned rubber because of the unfavourable economics.
Smallholders,numbering more than 450,000, have since taken over. More than 90 per cent of rubber planters are smallholders. And two million people are dependent on them.
Many own even less than one hectare. With such miniscule holding, the challenge to match the productivity of plantations is enormous.
Many smallholders have aged, but they are diehards, sticking to rubber the way rubber is, sticky and resilient. Few have abandoned rubber, despite the poor returns.
The government is also sticking to rubber. Under the National Commodity Policy which ends this year, ambitious targets were set for rubber. The industry remains an important revenue earner.
Under the pandemic, the country's rubber glove companies are benefiting from the exploding world demand.
The dry rubber product sector is suffering a bit because of the slowing demand from big consumers, like China. This will change once economic activities in China resume.
The rubberwood-based furniture-makers are also doing brisk business. They are more concerned about having a sustained supply of rubberwood than anything else. The most damning concern is the economic fortunes of rubber smallholders.
The persistently low world rubber prices have been the single most important factor of concern. They are also plagued by problems related to low productivity and high production costs.
The labour intensive nature of rubber harvesting has also exacted a toll on the quality of raw rubber. The cup lumps produced are exposed to the elements, bringing down quality.
Tyre makers, which account for about 70 per cent of natural rubber consumption, have increased pressure on producers to improve quality.
Through the years, technology has been a prime force in the expansion and progress of the natural rubber industry.
Technology development, anchored by the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB), has not produced much worth shouting about.
The old MRB, the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia, used to lead the world in natural rubber technology. For smallholders, the transfer of planting and agronomic technology have been disappointing. Product manufacturers are also not short of grouses.
They expect better processes and product technologies coming out of research and development (R&D). They have been fighting for better use of locally made rubber products, especially through government procurement for mega projects.
MRB has, at the same time, been hard-pressed for funding and talent to move its R&D agenda. MRB researchers also complain of too much outside micromanagement.
There is already a National Commodity Policy (2011-2020) in place, which ends this year. Rubber is part of the policy. But the document is filled with only the whats, not the hows. What to achieve in targets is well articulated.
Ambitious targets include raising rubber yield up to two tonnes per hectare per year. Some of the targets mention making Malaysia a leading rubber product supplier for the region.
Unfortunately, the hows to achieve the targets are silent. That perhaps explains the poor execution of the policy. It is time we develop a holistic national policy for the rubber industry, complete with action plans and monitoring.
The new policy would touch not only on improving the fate of smallholders, but also governance issues. The gaps in the governance structure have been cited as the major obstacles stalling change and positive transformation of the industry.
Professor Datuk Dr Ahmad Ibrahim
Fellow Academy of ScienceUCSI
University
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times