POTENTIAL OF THAI NORTHEASTERN REGION
Rubber plantations, traditionally seen only in the south of Thailand, have in recent years sprung up in the northeastern region of the country.
And Luckchai, whose Thai Xua started planting rubber trees in the northeast in 1995, saw a high potential of this region, the driest and poorest of the country.
He said 41,600 square kilometers of land in the northeast could be used for planting rubber trees, while currently only less than 11.5 percent, or 4,800 square kilometers, are of rubber plantations.
He believed that because of the attractive price, more farmers in the northeast would turn to plant rubber trees.
"I'm confident that the northeast has a high potential," the president of the Thai Rubber Association said. "Perhaps in the next 20-30 years, this region could become a bigger producer than the south."
Demand of rubber surged in particular from its usage to produce auto tires in China, which consumes 27 percent of world's demand.
Luckchai, whose Thai Hua trades rubber with China, said the Chinese consumption rose to three million tons in 2010, the world' s largest now, from about 1.1 million tons in 2001.
Global demand of natural rubber in 2011 is estimated at 11 million tons.
Luckchai said China superseded the United States as the world's largest rubber consumer in 2001, when its demand exceeded one million tons while that of the U.S. dropped below that mark.
"If Chinese demand continues to grow by leaps and bounds like this, the production will remain insufficient," he said.
And the world's production -- 70 percent of which comes from the big three producers, which are Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia -- is under even higher pressure from the surging economy of India.
"If the Indian economy continues to grow like the Chinese, or just half of its pace, the production will become even more inadequate," Luckchai said.
(Source: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/90858/90863/7300801.html)
No comments:
Post a Comment