Gov't to assist tiremaker sourcing local raw materials

The government will help tire manufacturers source rubber sap domestically to revive the country's rubber industry.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary Alfredo Pascual met with Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd. executives in Japan and pledged to help the tiremaker meet their rubber sap requirements.

"The sad part is that local suppliers do not fully meet the requirements for sourcing natural rubber in the Philippines. That is why we committed to helping them to source the rubber in Mindanao so they can add value to the tires they are producing locally," Pascual said.

The DTI aims to help Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (YTPI), Yokohama Rubber's unit in the country, increase its local sourcing of raw rubber from the current 51% to 100%.

Pascual said Yokohama, the country's lone tire producer, plans to invest around $60 million (P3.5 billion) to boost its production by 5%, or an additional 500,000 tires annually, from the current 10 million tires per year.

The DTI chief said his office would talk with its counterpart in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to explore opportunities to supply more raw rubber to the tire manufacturer.

Pascual said YTPI is sourcing 12,000 metric tons of raw rubber, worth nearly P1 billion, from the Philippines, with the potential to supply 30,000 MT more.

"In terms of value, that's also a billion (pesos). That's additional revenue to the farmers in Mindanao," he added.

Pascual also believes that the country has a sufficient supply of rubber to meet the demand of Japanese tire producers.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, rubber production in the second quarter of 2023 stood at 112,590 MT, with BARMM leading the rubber production in the country with a total output of 43,150 MT, or 38.3% of the total production.