Rubber industry in Thailand - statistics & facts
Rubber cultivation was first introduced in the early 1900s in the southern region of Thailand. The cultivation of rubber trees in Thailand had since then become widely practiced due to the highly supportive governmental supervision combined with the country’s suitable tropical climate. These two elements built up Thailand’s comparative advantage in rubber cultivation which resulted in the accelerated growth of the country’s rubber industry. As of today, Thailand is the world’s leading supplier of rubber, exporting substantial levels of natural rubber throughout the years.
Although a leading global supplier of latex products, Thailand’s import value of synthetic rubber has been increasing in recent years, implying a growing demand for this commodity. Since Thailand is more proficient in manufacturing agricultural-based products rather than synthetic rubber produced from petroleum, the country still relies on imports to cater to demand in this sector. However, the rising demand for synthetic rubber along with the country’s established petrochemical industry has raised a potential opportunity for Thailand to further branch out into synthetic rubber production in the coming years.
The rubber businesses in Thailand
Rubber businesses in Thailand range from small and medium enterprises to large manufacturing companies. Small to medium-scale rubber enterprises are usually involved in cultivation businesses, latex extraction, and preliminary natural rubber processing, which are mainly the upstream operations of the supply chain. After extracting latex, these rubber SMEs or farmers then sell their rubber to a middle market that belongs to larger rubber processing or manufacturing companies. Large corporations in the rubber industry in Thailand are divided into two main categories: rubber processing and rubber product manufacturing. Rubber processing corporations mainly produce natural rubber products such as ribbed smoked sheet rubber, block or STC rubber, concentrated latex, and compound rubber, which are used for further manufacturing. Rubber manufacturing companies, on the other hand, mainly create products out of natural rubber materials such as car accessories, tires, gloves, condoms, apparel, and countless other products for daily use. Overall, the number of rubber factories in Thailand has steadily increased in recent years, implying strong demand in this industry.Key products, manufacturing, and trade
Despite producing downstream rubber products such as tires and gloves, Thailand focuses more on processed natural rubber exports compared to final rubber products. Among the types of exported processed natural rubber, block rubber took the highest share of natural rubber exports with the major trade partner being China. Another significant natural rubber export from Thailand is concentrated latex, which is a key component of rubber product manufacturing. Overall, natural rubber products in Thailand have been mainly used for vehicle accessory production, as seen from vehicle tires being one of the country’s major rubber product exports.Although a leading global supplier of latex products, Thailand’s import value of synthetic rubber has been increasing in recent years, implying a growing demand for this commodity. Since Thailand is more proficient in manufacturing agricultural-based products rather than synthetic rubber produced from petroleum, the country still relies on imports to cater to demand in this sector. However, the rising demand for synthetic rubber along with the country’s established petrochemical industry has raised a potential opportunity for Thailand to further branch out into synthetic rubber production in the coming years.
