Editorial - The Rubber International Magazine

Editorial

Although both natural rubber or synthetic rubber have played significant roles in our daily life while their significance will become even more due to suitable technology application and rising population, their existences are different. The synthetic rubber is made from non-renewable raw materials which can be depleted some day compared with natural rubber. The natural rubber plantation which can be environmentally friendly can be made consistently.

The natural rubber which is raw material of several industries is also considered an agricultural commodity as its plantation mostly depends on labors. When production cost is high and rubber selling price is low, farmers are put into difficult positions. However, their hardships will vary in individual countries. As the world’s 1st natural rubber supplier and exporter, Thailand is much affected because rubber planting and manufacturing are consisted of almost a hundred percent of small-scale entrepreneurs. It is said that rubber cultivation flourishes only in least-developed and developing countries where people are compelled to earn their living with low wages and without much choices. Whenever a country becomes developed or industrialized, the rubber plantation will decline or disappear.

Plunging rubber prices usually occur whenever the world’s economy has changed and made the consumption sluggish especially when supply is over demand. Natural rubber production are seasonal and dependable upon surrounding factors which are put into limit sometime. In the past, a number of solutions were introduced. Intervention schemes were adopted at national level such as price intervention schemes while other solutions were proposed at a regional organization via ANRPCE and at international level among rubber producing and using rubber countries through INRO. Nevertheless, none of solutions was completely successful but it could only alleviate the impact for a certain period of time. Eventually, those solutions were cancelled because respective countries had different problem background. In conclusion, the governments must inevitably provide suitable solutions to problems in each countries while their strategies must be precisely crafted out and transparent practice must be adopted.