Bangladeshi rubber price is rising

Rubber price almost doubled in the past one year riding on the significant rise in domestic and foreign demand, private and public producers said. Locally produced rubber is now selling at Tk 120- 125 a kilogram, while it was between Tk 60 and Tk 90 last year. International market price now hovers around Tk 150 per kg. "We have no stock now, but 6,000 tonnes of rubber remained stockpiled last year because of poor market demand," said Abdul Mannan Ilias, general manager of state-owned Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation ( BFIDC). Rubber producers in the private sector are getting fair price for the item this year. "We're getting a lot of export orders this year," said Motahar Billah Chowdhury, vice president of Bangladesh Rubber Garden Owners Association, the trade body for private sector rubber producers. India, Pakistan and Turkey are the export destinations, Chowdhury said. He also pointed to the fact that local manufacturers meet a significant portion of domestic demand. Rubber plantation is relatively new in Bangladesh compared to other countries, industry insiders say. The government has been encouraging plantation in the hilly areas since 1980. Some 45 ,000 acres of land have so far been allotted to the BFIDC and 32 ,500 acres to private owners. BFIDC data shows Bangladesh's present annual rubber production is around 11 ,000 tonnes against the 30 ,000- tonne capacity. The amount rubber garden owners produce is 5 ,000 tonnes. Local companies including Gazi Tyre, Hossain Tyre, Rupsha Sandal and Meghna Cycle are the largest consumers of locally produced rubber. Local consumption is likely to rise further as some of these companies are going to manufacture automobile tyre soon in the country. The BFIDC, responsible for production and sale of government-produced rubber, is now in a strong position due to good sales in the steady domestic market, said the corporation's general manager. The corporation fetched nearly Tk 100 crore from rubber sales in 2009. It sells rubber in auction. Private producers however credited the price hike on widening export demand. "We could not enter into the multibillion dollars export market because of negligence of successive governments," said Harun-ur-Rashid, general secretary of rubber garden owners association. He said: "Bangladesh started getting export orders only after private producers attended an international fair in India early 2009 ". Foreign consumers even did not know Bangladesh produces rubber, said Chowdhury, stressing government policy support for flourishing the industry. "The government has neither set up any administrative wing to help the sector, nor it formulated any policy for the industry," he lamented. According to industry people, as many as 10 people are employed in every 25 acres of rubber land.