The Hindu Business Line : China emerging a key rubber producer in Asia

FROM an average rubber producer a few years ago, China has now emerged as a leading rubber-producing country in Asia with a total planted area of 625,600 hectares under rubber and production of around 500,000 tonnes in 2003 according to Mr Thomas Ouseph , a senior rubber consultant and former Secretary of Rubber Board.China is the fifth largest rubber producer in the world after India, which produced 670,000 tonnes during the year with a total planted area of 570,000 hectares, he said.

Though there are many favourable factors for rubber cultivation, Chinese production is low compared to India mainly on account of cold climate and frequent occurrence of typhoons. While the cold climate retards plant growth, typhoons cause trunk and branch snaps and even uprooting the whole tree at times.

Speaking to Business Line Mr Ouseph, who recently returned from China after a study tour, said Chinese average productivity of rubber at 1140 kg per hectare is low compared to India's 1575 kg, but it is better than Indonesia's 700 kg, mainly on account of systematic planting and better plantation maintenance. Though China has developed cold resistant variety of rubber plants, these occupy only about 1 per cent of the planted area as the productivity is low. Major clones planted are the Malaysian clone RRIM 600 and the Indonesia clones PR 107 and GT1.

Chinese rubber plantations are mainly under State farms. In recent years, rubber plantations have come up in individual ownership. The largest rubber plantation has an area of 2,44,000 hectares.

The State farms maintain a wage structure linked to productivity. Each worker is assigned a portion of the plantation of around 2 hectares, for maintenance and crop extraction. He is responsible for carrying out the entire cultural operations in the plantation segment looked after by him.

The worker gets an incentive wage. On every kg of latex collected a day beyond the minimum of 10 kg, incentive wage is paid. A worker taps about 800 rubber trees a day. The tapping and other plantation works are carried out with the help of family labour. During the period of price depression, the workers volunteer for wage cut in order to keep viability of the plantation and during period of better price, they get better wages. Latex collected is processed in large processing plants, into technically specified block rubber and into centrifuged latex.