DA-DTI to form rubber industry cluster teams

MANILA, Philippines - The Agriculture and Trade departments are planning to form regional and provincial rubber industry cluster teams in MIMAROPA region as part of efforts to develop its rubber industry. MIMAROPA groups the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the need to organize regional and provincial rubber industry cluster teams was identified during a workshop conducted to draw up plans to support MIMAROPA’s rubber industry.

“This task is to be undertaken by the DTI and the Department of Agriculture (DA),” the DTI said.

MIMAROPA has vast tracts of land suitable for developing a rubber plantation.

Sitti Amina Jain, DTI assistant regional director and national rubber industry cluster manager, said it is important for the country to expand rubber production “due to the high demand in the local and export markets.”

Earlier, the DTI said it wants the country to be able to take advantage of the higher rubber demand seen from Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (YTPI), which is expected to raise the production of its tires by 2017.

YTPI is the country’s major market for its rubber.

The company which produces 21,000 tires per day, gets about four percent of its rubber requirement from the Philippines.

By 2017, the company’s total requirement for rubber is seen to increase as it is expected to hike production to 50,000 tires per day.

Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that the country produced 442,990 metric tons (MT) of rubber in 2012.

As of the first quarter, the country’s rubber production reached 66,540 MT.

By developing the country’s rubber industry, the government does not only expect to increase both domestic and export sales but attract investments as well as create jobs in the region.