Rubber production is growing in Bangladesh due to increased demand in domestic use and exports. Export earnings from rubber shot up 57 per cent year-on-year to $28 million in the July-January period of the current fiscal year, from $18.3 million during the same period a year ago. Apart from shipment, domestic demand for rubber from tyre makers, footwear and medical gloves in Bangladesh is on the rise.
Currently, rubber is being grown on 100,000 acres of land with private operators running 1,304 gardens and state agencies operating 28 gardens. Most of the gardens are in the Chatttogram region. Rubber trees, which consume a lot of carbon, are grown in Mymensingh, Tangail and Sherpur. We see good prospects for rubber. Its demand will continue to rise, as consumption will grow. Domestic production can meet a good portion of demand from local industries. And in order to meet rising consumption, rubber production capacity has soared several times over the past decade. Now the annual production capacity is 86,000 tonnes.
The imposition of the 15 per cent VAT by the government, even though all VAT has been withdrawn from agro-based products, is being seen as the principal impediment to the sector’s potential growth. The availability of expertise in the field of rubber production is negligible and at the moment, the scope of acquiring soft loans and other finances are also extremely narrow. The government during the last few years has invested only funds worth Tk 162.82 million, at an interest rate of 12 per cent. Adding to the woes is the primitive plantation system which requires about eight years to extract latex, whereas, it takes half as long in countries like Malaysia.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, by 2020, 150,000 acres of land will have to be brought under cultivation to meet the growing worldwide demand for rubber. Bangladesh now seeks a proper infrastructure to propel itself towards desired directions in order to become a key supplier to meet this worldwide rubber demand.
