Extensive growing of rubber urged in Myanmar for export
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
YANGON, Dec 29 (Xinhua): A Myanmar official newspaper Tuesday urged farmers and private entrepreneurs in the country to extend growing of rubber plants of quality strains on a commercial scale for export in the light of brisk rubber trade in the international market.
The industrial raw material has been grown in Myanmar's southeastern Mon state for many years which is the biggest rubber producing region for its favorable climate and soil especially high rainfall, the New Light of Myanmar said in its editorial.
"Now, rubber can be grown not only in Mon state but also in Kayin, Kachin and Shan states and Tanintharyi division," the editorial disclosed.
To enable extended rubber cultivation on a commercial scale, the government is providing plots of land, rubber saplings of quality strains and modern cultivation technology to rubber growers, the editorial said, adding that the government is also helping them replace old rubber trees with rubber plants of quality strains and to produce finished wood products from old rubber trees.
According to the Rubber Entrepreneurs Association, Myanmar exported 35,000 tons of raw rubber in the first six months of the present fiscal year 2009-10 which began in April, getting about 5 million U.S dollars.
The export started to increase in June this year when world rubber price as well as domestic's soared.
Myanmar projected an export target of over 80,000 tons during the current fiscal year against 2008-09's 40,000 tons.
Myanmar exports rubber mainly to China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia through border trade.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has also planned to expand cultivating over 40,000 hectares of rubber along the country's May Yu mountain range in western Rakhine state as part of its 10-year plan (2008- 09 to 2017-2018) of extending cultivation of the industrial crop.
The industrial raw material has been grown in Myanmar's southeastern Mon state for many years which is the biggest rubber producing region for its favorable climate and soil especially high rainfall, the New Light of Myanmar said in its editorial.
"Now, rubber can be grown not only in Mon state but also in Kayin, Kachin and Shan states and Tanintharyi division," the editorial disclosed.
To enable extended rubber cultivation on a commercial scale, the government is providing plots of land, rubber saplings of quality strains and modern cultivation technology to rubber growers, the editorial said, adding that the government is also helping them replace old rubber trees with rubber plants of quality strains and to produce finished wood products from old rubber trees.
According to the Rubber Entrepreneurs Association, Myanmar exported 35,000 tons of raw rubber in the first six months of the present fiscal year 2009-10 which began in April, getting about 5 million U.S dollars.
The export started to increase in June this year when world rubber price as well as domestic's soared.
Myanmar projected an export target of over 80,000 tons during the current fiscal year against 2008-09's 40,000 tons.
Myanmar exports rubber mainly to China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia through border trade.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has also planned to expand cultivating over 40,000 hectares of rubber along the country's May Yu mountain range in western Rakhine state as part of its 10-year plan (2008- 09 to 2017-2018) of extending cultivation of the industrial crop.