BANGKOK: As rubber prices plunge with the economic uncertainties, Thailand may have found a way to overcome this while making its highways safer.
A plunge in demand from global automakers because of the Covid-19 pandemic has driven down the price of rubber, affecting millions of growers and tappers in Thailand.
As the world's biggest producer of natural rubber, Thailand's government, farmers and entrepreneurs have tried different ways to offset slack demand.
More rubber is now being used in cosmetics, for example, while some roads have been paved with compounds made from the same natural material.
Bloomberg News reports that the latest idea revolves around a new road safety programme, which aims to turn one million tonnes of rubber into 12,282km of fender barriers and 1,063,651 flexible guide posts.
The plan will not only absorb about a quarter of the annual harvest, but it could also save lives as Thailand is home to Asia's deadliest roads.
"Rubber's elasticity helps lessen the crash impact to the point that fatal injuries can be avoided," said Anat Hasap, director of the Railway Transportation System Testing Centre at the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research.
"On real roads, that means accidents won't result in deaths."
Anat added that tests had shown that road barriers covered in a thick layer of rubber could reduce the crash impact on vehicles travelling at 90 to 100 kilometres per hour by as much as 80 per cent.
Thailand has Asia's highest per capita traffic fatality rate and the ninth highest in the world, according to the World Health Organisation.
The organisation estimates that 22,500 people die annually from vehicle accidents in the country.
The current barrier plan will cover about one per cent of the country's road network and will be coupled with installation of guide posts made from flexible rubber latex instead of concrete or other rigid materials.
Switching to bendable poles will reduce deaths from motorcycle accidents, which account for one-third of road accidents but three-quarters of all fatalities, according to the data from the Transport Ministry.
Thailand typically produces about a third of the world's natural rubber; Malaysia and Indonesia are the next-largest growers.
Matching rubber supply and demand is tricky partly because its production is dominated by rubber smallholders, who often tap trees even when prices are low to earn more income.