Natural rubber

Natural rubber is a component of many everyday products, for example tyres, latex gloves, mattresses, and condoms. Natural Rubber is of a strategic importance for industrial societies.

Nearly 90 per cent of the cultivation still takes place in Southeast Asia, mostly in Thailand and Indonesia. But Africa, namely the Ivory Coast, is gaining ground. The farming of rubber is highly labour intensive and is mainly accomplished by 6 million smallholders, responsible for about 80 per cent of the world production.  

Natural rubber is subject to highly fluctuating world market prices, significantly impacting the income of smallholders. At the beginning of this century, high natural rubber prices let to considerable land expansion, resulting in  deforestation, destruction of peat soils and land right conflicts. Consequently, natural rubber has been included in the list of commodities covered by the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR), affecting the entire natural rubber supply chain. 

Since 2011, we have been experiencing a steadily falling rubber price, which is currently fluctuating at a low level. This is prompting many farmers to switch to other commodities such as oil palm. However, as natural rubber consumption and demand are correlated with global industrial growth, a sustained increase in demand is predicted. This expected increase in demand requires either an improvement in the productivity of existing plantations or the establishment of new plantations, which represents a potential risk for future deforestation. 

To tackle these challenges and achieve an ecologically sustainable and socio-economically fair and viable supply chain for natural rubber, we are involved in several projects with the public and private sector in Colombia, the Ivory Coast and, for example, in Indonesia with Continental Reifen GmbH. 

Our initiatives tackle the technical challenges of efficient, environmentally sound and better yield rubber production, as well as supporting farmers to become EUDR-ready and promote (gender) equity and fair incomes.