Rubber Market Research Articles

Review of Economic Success of Chinese Merchants in Southeast Asia: Identity, Ethnic Cooperation and Conflict. Integrating the Social Science with Evolutionary Biology

Abstract Janet Landa interprets informal economic network of traders or middlemen as an institution for lowering transaction costs in communities that have not developed reliable legal infrastructure for enforcing contracts. In economics, Landa has pioneered the study of trust in trade networks and her new book reveals the intellectual development of an original scholar over a period of thirty years. Of the 14 essays in the book, 5 have not been published before. The story begins on the ground in Singapore and West Malaysia in 1969 when a young doctoral student wonders why Chinese middlemen, belonging the Hokkien dialect group, dominate the marketing of rubber made by small-scale Malay producers. The student herself is part of the Chinese diaspora but studies at a Canadian university.

Forecasting equilibrium quantity and price on the world natural rubber market

Natural rubber on the world market has had small increases in demand and big increases in supply. Therefore, demand and supply are imbalanced and this impacts the natural rubber price of the world market causing a decline. This study aimed: (1) to develop demand and supply models to predict the world natural rubber quantity using simultaneous equations; (2) to predict all explanatory variables in the demand and supply models using the simple moving average technique; and (3) to estimate the equilibrium quantity and price for world natural rubber during 2017–2026. First, in the demand model, there was a positive relationship of the explanatory variables of world natural rubber production quantity, synthetic rubber price, percentage year of year (%YOY) of gross domestic product (GDP), and the exchange rate, while the negative relationship variable was natural rubber price. In the supply model, the positive relationship variables were natural rubber price, mature area, rainfall, and crude oil price, while the negative relationship variables were world natural rubber stock and urea price. Second, the predicted variables indicated that production, %YOY of GDP, exchange rate, amount of stock, and the mature area tended to gradually increase, while the synthetic rubber price, urea price, rainfall, and crude oil price tended to slowly decrease from 2017 to 2026. Finally, the equilibrium quantity forecast tended to gradually increase from 953.75 to 957.15 thousand tonnes, and the equilibrium price tended to fluctuate and decrease from 169.78 to 162.05 thousand yen from 2017 to 2026. Consequently, this study may be helpful to the governments of the world's important natural rubber producing countries to plan policies to reduce natural rubber production costs and stabilize the natural rubber price in the future, such as by setting suitable areas of world natural rubber plantation in each country, and defining appropriate and sustainable alternative crop areas in each country.

Factors influencing rubber marketing by smallholder farmers in Thailand

ABSTRACTThis article assesses the factors determining the type of rubber product that farmers are willing to sell and the factors influencing their marketing channel choice in Thailand. Primary data were collected through questionnaire administration from 280 rubber farmers in two southern provinces. The results of the logit regression model revealed that membership of farmers’ organisation, access to knowledge and information, and total area of immature rubber positively influenced the sale of fresh latex. Membership of farmer organisations and accessibility to market infrastructure also significantly positively influenced the sale of fresh latex to farmer groups. The implications for rubber marketing are presented.

THE SHORT AND FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF RUBBER IN MADAGASCAR: THE FIRST CONTROVERSY BETWEEN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCE EXPLOITATION

Madagascar fut entre 1891 et 1914 une zone de production de caoutchouc sylvestre destiné à l’exportation vers l’Europe. Le poids de Madagascar dans le commerce mondial resta toujours modeste, mais cette activité eut des conséquences écologiques importantes. De nombreuses espèces endé- miques furent exploitées, dans une optique de productivité immédiate et maximale sans prise en compte de notion de gestion durable. Cet épisode représentant l’un des premiers cas d’exploitation des ressources biologiques malgaches à des fins indus- trielles a été l’un des éléments déclencheurs de la prise de conscience de la valeur de la biodiversité malgache et des menaces induites par des activités humaines mal contrôlées. Il aboutit à la promulgation d’une législation très répressive et coerci- tive à l’endroit des populations locales dési- gnées comme principales responsables. Mais les naturalistes jugèrent les décisions politiques inefficaces. Ils développèrent alors un discours volontairement alarmiste et catastrophiste ayant pour but de faire réagir les politiques jugés trop laxistes. Dis- cours d’ailleurs pris à contre-pied lorsque l’effort de guerre relança la filière caout- chouc malgache entre 1942 et 1945. Cet épisode fut un élément déclencheur de la création, dès 1927, d’un réseau d’aires pro- tégées, faisant de Madagascar un pionnier en Afrique. Parallèlement la domestication des espèces caoutchoutières malgaches et/ ou l’introduction des espèces à fort poten- tiel furent promues. Cependant, l’émer- gence du caoutchouc issu de l’hévéaculture asiatique fit rapidement retomber l’intérêt commercial du caoutchouc malgache, épar- gnant ainsi les forêts de la Grande Île. Ainsi, c’est le réalisme économique qui condamna la filière devenue non rentable et assura la sauvegarde des espèces à caoutchouc mal- gaches plutôt que les discours des natura- listes, la création d’aires protégées ou la promulgation de textes répressifs.

Solving the Location Routing Problem of the Central Rubber Market by Tabu Search

The central rubber market of Songkhla province is the center of the collection and distribution of rubber production from sellers to purchasers. It is considered ineffective because sellers need to deliver whole raw rubber to the market, resulting in high transport costs, especially for those who came a great distance and had little quantity. This research applied the tabu search method to solve the location selection problem of the rubber purchasing depot and manage transport routes to the market. Results found that there were 16 purchasing depots. The central rubber market had unlimited purchasing capacity while the other purchasing depots limited the quantity of rubber to 10 tons. There were five transport routes and five trucks (four ten-wheeled trucks and one ten-wheeled truck with a trailer). The total delivery costs were 53,313.89 baht per day. The answers about efficiency from the Lingo 13 program with small, medium, and large problems and real problems were not significantly statistically different at a significance level of 0.05.

Control over ABA-type triblock copolymer latex morphology in RAFT miniemulsion polymerization and mechanical properties of the latex films

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are of growing commercial importance in the worldwide non-tire rubber market. It is because of their unique thermomechanical properties that associate with the phase morphologies. Controlled/living radical (mini)emulsion polymerization holds good promise for synthesis of ABA-type triblock copolymer TPEs. Both the mechanical and morphological investigations have been conducted on the solvent films of this copolymer latex. However, neither the copolymer latex particle nor the latex film has been investigated in terms of morphologies or mechanical properties. This work reports the development of triblock copolymer latex particle morphologies through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated miniemulsion polymerization. ABA-type triblock copolymers consisting of outer polystyrene blocks and inner polyacrylate blocks are synthesized in two steps through chain extension from symmetric RAFT agents. A variety of novel particle microstructures are realized by regulating either block ratios or particle surface attraction for each blocks. The nanostructured latex are also used for casting latex films. It is observed that the film morphologies do not attain thermodynamic equilibrium even after thermal annealing. In comparison to the solvent films with similar hard block contents, the latex films have higher elastic modulus, but exhibit inferior mechanical responses in terms of elongation at break and ultimate strength. The possible reason is attributed to the suppressed interparticle self-assembly of copolymers during latex film formation and scarce of bridging configuration of central block connecting different glassy domains within the final films.

Short-term and long-term price forecasting models for the future exchange of Malaysian natural rubber market

Kuala Lumpur rubber market drifted uncertainly within a narrow range. Market situation provided upward pressure on prices and producer and consumer interest was poor coupled with weak prices in the regional markets. The objectives of the study are: (a) to estimate the relationship between natural rubber (NR) price and supply, demand, and stock, while some other factors of crude oil price and exchange rate by using simultaneous supply-demand and price system equation and Vector Error Correction Method (VECM); (b) to forecast the short-term and long-term NR price; and (c) to compare and evaluate the price forecasting models. Firstly, the data was analysed by Ferris and Engle-Granger's procedure; secondly, both price forecasting methodology were tested by Pindyck-Rubinfeld and Makridakis's procedure. The result shows that VECM model is more efficient using quarterly data; a short-term price forecast is decreasing and a long-term price forecast is predicted to increasing trend of the Malaysian rubber market.

Income enhancement through group processing and marketing of natural rubber: A study of rubber producers’ society (RPS) in Kerala

Income enhancement through group processing and marketing of natural rubber: A study of rubber producers’ society (RPS) in Kerala

Lanxess to buy Chemtura for $2.5 billion

German specialty chemical producer Lanxess has agreed to buy Philadelphia-based Chemtura, a maker of lubricant additives, plastics flame retardants, urethanes, and organometallics, in a cash deal worth roughly $2.5 billion. The $33.50 per share Lanxess will pay represents an 18.9% premium over Chemtura’s stock price on Sept. 23, the business day before the deal was announced. The acquisition, the largest in Lanxess’s history, was driven by the company’s desire to grow its additives business and push further into specialty chemicals. It marks a turn to growth after a major restructuring that spanned 2014–15 under new CEO Matthias Zachert. Zachert cut costs and sold a 50% stake in the firm’s synthetic rubber business to Saudi Aramco to lessen its exposure to the volatile rubber market. Chemtura’s additives for lubricants and plastics will complement the rubber additives made by Lanxess’s Rhein Chemie business. Overall, Lanxess will gain a greater presence in profitable

Volatility and Market Risk of Rubber Price in Malaysia: Pre- and Post-Global Financial Crisis

The volatility in rubber price is a significant risk to producers, traders, consumers and others who are involved in the production and marketing of natural rubber. Such being the case, forecasting the rubber price volatility is desired to assist in decision-making in this uncertain situation. The 2008 Global Financial Crisis caused some disruptions and uncertainties in the future supply or demand for natural rubber and thus leading to higher rubber price volatility. Using ARCH-type models, this paper intends to model the dynamics of the price volatility of Standard Malaysia Rubber Grade 20 (SMR 20) in the Malaysian market before and after the Global Financial Crisis. Additionally, Value-at-Risk (VaR) approach is implemented to evaluate the market risk of SMR 20. Our empirical result denotes the existence of volatility clustering and long memory volatility in the SMR 20 market for both crisis periods. Leverage effect is also detected in the SMR 20 market where negative innovations (bad news) have a larger impact on the volatility than positive innovations (good news) for post-crisis period. When tested with Superior Predictive Ability (SPA) test, FIGARCH model is the best model across five loss functions for short- and long-term forecasts for pre-crisis period. Meanwhile, over post-crisis period, FIGARCH and GJR GARCH indicate the superior out-of-sample-forecast results and better forecasting accuracy over short- and long-term horizons, respectively. In terms of market risk, the short trading position encounters higher risk or greater losses than the long trading position at both 1 and 5 % VaR quantile for pre-crisis period. In contrast, over post-crisis period, long traders of rubber SMR 20 tend to face limited gains but unlimited losses.

Factors affecting Thai rubber farmer production and marketing in the western province of Kanchanaburi

Factors affecting Thai rubber farmer production and marketing in the western province of Kanchanaburi

Price formation and supply response of natural rubber

Natural rubber is a major economic plant in the plantation sector in terms of providing income to the growers for a long-time and also it serves as raw materials for various industrial products. Over 20 million families are dependent on rubber cultivation for their livelihood in the world natural rubber market. Natural rubber price is influenced by many factors such as weather, currency exchange rates, oil prices, policy changes in major rubber producing and consuming countries. The specific objective of the study was to identify the factor responsible for price formation and supply response of natural rubber. The result shows that the price formation of natural rubber revealed that the futures price, international price, and synthetic rubber price were statistically significant where as crude oil price and exchange rate were non-significant. From supply response analysis, it was inferred that price was a significant factor explaining output growth. The analysis confirmed that lagged price exerted a positive influence on natural rubber area.

Role of Marketing Function in the Rubber Marketing Societies for the Benefit of Small Rubber Growers

Role of Marketing Function in the Rubber Marketing Societies for the Benefit of Small Rubber Growers

Mercado de Borracha Natural e Viabilidade Econômica do Cultivo da Seringueira no Brasil

This paper aims at putting natural rubber market in Brazil in context and analyzing the economic viability of rubber crop. We used statistical data obtained from government institutions. We also searched specialized bibliography and talked to experts, associations and producers of natural rubber. For the evaluation of economic viability the main data source was obtained from Santa Helena Farm and Usine, the first one to produce natural rubber in Sao Paulo State. The results show that it is necessary to invest in order to promote production growth, so that the country gets self-sufficiency of natural rubber. The national market is strongly influenced by international market fluctuations. It was possible to conclude that investment in the natural rubber production from rubber tree is economically viable with Net Present Value (NPV) R$ 4,405.07/ha; Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 10.82 %; Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.16 and Equivalent Periodic Benefit (BPE) R$ 416.36/ha/year.

Analisis Permintaan Karet Alam Indonesia di Pasar Internasional

The development of the natural rubber market in three years was relatively favorable for producers, which was indicated by the relatively high price level. This was due to increasing demand. Of course this will be a good opportunity for Indonesia to export processed rubber and rubber industry in Indonesia to other countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that can affect demand for Indonesia's natural rubber exports in each country's export destinations. The data used was secondary data years 1980-2013 time series derived from IRSG, BPS, FAO, Gapkindo, UN Comtrade, BI, and the World Bank. Methods of analysis using dynamic demand model "Stock Adjustment Principle", Nerlove (1983) and the model of Ordinary Least Square (OLS), Auto Correlation Models and Two Stage Least Square (2SLS) with modifications to several independent variables. The results showed that Indonesia's natural rubber demand in the market of the United States, China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea is positively influenced by the volume of exports last year, the population of a country, and per capita income of a country. As well as negatively affected by the exchange rate of a country's currency against the US dollar and the implementation of the export quota policy.

Natural Rubber Sector in Tripura: Role of Institutional Innovations

Tripura's growing prominence in India's rubber map is essentially an outcome of the institutional interventions during the past five decades. These interventions have been found effective in transforming the state's agricultural sector from jhum based cultivation to commercial cultivation of NR. The major production–centric institutional interventions, viz. establishment of Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation (TFDPC), Tripura Rehabilitation Plantation Corporation (TRPC), Block Planting Units — Rubber Producers Societies (BPU-RPS) schemes of Rubber Board and marketing interventions such as establishment of NR processing and rubber products units enabling value-addition have highlighted the relevance of institutional innovations in the promotion of NR in Tripura. A comparative analysis of marketing of sheet rubber has revealed the lowest transaction costs and highest marketing efficiency of TFDPC through its direct marketing strategy without intermediaries. However, the BPU/RPS have been effective in minimizing the transaction costs from the smallholder's angle. The study has suggested the development of a rubber based industrial sector in the state for the sustained growth of NR cultivation.

中国の再生ゴム産業

China has No1 capacity of reclaimed rubber production in the world. Its industry has many advanced and unique technologies and its application including high performance reclaimed rubber, normal pressure continuous reclaiming process, environmental-friendly reclaimed rubber, activator of reclaimed process and 120mesh fine rubber power etc. Global reclaimed rubber market and reclaimed rubber allocation for tire is also described.

The Current Status and Future Trends of Farm Production and Marketing of Para-Rubber in the Upper East Coast Provinces of Southern Thailand

The research aimed to: 1) describe the current status and future trends of para-rubber production and marketing in the study area; 2) identify the marketing costs of farmers; and 3) study the marketing system of para-rubber. Data were collected from 462 farmers, 108 middlemen, and 17 processors. The study area was 4 provinces in the Upper East Coast of Southern Thailand: Chumpon, Suratthani, Nakhonsrithammarat, and Patthalung. The surveys were conducted by using structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and workshops. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, cost analysis, and marketing channel analysis. From 2005 to 2010, planting areas increased but total yields declined, due to heavy rains and floods. The rubber prices fluctuated but had an increasing trend. On an average, the planting area was 2.7 ha and had been cultivated for 17 years. The major variety was RRIM 600. The majority of farmers (63%) sold most of their para-rubber in latex form, while rubber sheets (31%) or cup lumps (18%) dominated less often. Hired help was often paid by a split of sales revenue. The product price, relationship, and shipping distance affected selecting the sales channel. Most preferred self-transportation to middlemen (81%), who usually set the price lower than the central market price. The marketing costs were from sheet making, transportation, and deductions for low quality. Sheet making at 3.65 THB per kg was mainly labor costs (72%). The transportation cost of cup lumps, latex and, sheets were on average 1.04, 0.86, 0.48 THB per kg, respectively. The cup lumps had quality deductions of 11% average from full price, and cup lump wetness and contamination had affected 65% of farmers, while 46% had sold sheets with deductions averaging 2%. Fluctuating prices and lack of knowledge about market channels and prices were the major problem for 45% of the farmers. Farm producers mainly sold latex or dry rubber (sheets, cutting scraps, and cup lumps). The latex marketing channel was through collectors for processing plants, that could both be local or larger scale. The dry rubber marketing channels included also collectors, central market, and processing plants. Rubber processed to primary products (smoked sheets, block, and compound rubber) was mainly exported. The latex marketing channels are gaining importance because farmers prefer to sell in latex form. They are likely to sell to a local village collector close to the farm. The demand for local processing plants that transform latex to rubber sheets or block rubber as well as the latex processing plants will likely increase.

KAJIAN KARAKTERISTIK PETANI KARET DALAM MENENTUKAN PILIHAN KELEMBAGAAN TATANIAGA DI PROVINSI ACEH

Determining on rubber marketing institutional options is influenced by the characteristics of the institutional and socio-economic of farmers. This study aimed to examine the role of the characteristics of rubber farmers in the establishment of marketing institutional options. The research was conducted by survey method. The research has been taken in two districts of West Aceh and East Aceh. The numbers of respondents were 360 farmers. Data collection was taken by observation and structured interviews to a number of "key informants" and performed Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in strengthening and completing the information required. The results show the magnitude of institutional partnership opportunities for farmers to choose the traditional institutional was significantly influenced by the negative direction by the experience of farmers in rubber farming, farmers formal education, number of family member, and number of tapped rubber trees; and significantly and positively influenced by non-formal education and total family income. Total family income has an elastic response.Keywords: Marketing Institutional, farmer Characteristics, rubber

Ekspor Karet Indonesia ke-15 Negara Tujuan Utama Setelah Pemberlakuan Kebijakan ACFTA

The objective of this study is to examine factors affecting Indonesia’s rubber export performance to Indonesia’s 15 main trading partners after the implementation of ACFTA. This research employs Bergstrand Gravity Model (1985) using 105 observation for 15 countries from 2004 to 2010. Then, the gravity model is estimated by applying random effects (RE) model. The results show that, first, GDP per capita of Indonesia’s main trading partners have significantly positive impact on export. Surprisingly, distance has significantly positive effect on Indonesia’s rubber export. Further, Indonesia’s rubber major export destinations are the member of ACFTA, i.e. China and Singapore. Last, some of the non member countries are still potential to be Indonesia’s rubber market. Therefore, the Government of Indonesia should increase trading with them.