Gapkindo: rubber stock at North Sumatra Factory is running low

Rubber manufacturers in North Sumatra threatened to stop operating because of the supply of raw materials thinned in the last month.

"The entrepreneurs are increasingly complaining about the depletion of raw material supply," said Executive Secretary of the Rubber Association of Indonesian Rubber Company (Gapkindo) Sumut Edy Irwansyah in Medan on Wednesday.

Entrepreneurs are worried that the reduced supply will disrupt the fulfillment of rubber export contracts for the end of 2017 and early 2018.

Whereas before it, the operation of rubber manufacturers in North Sumatra only about 50 percent of the total installed capacity of approximately 800ribu tons.

According to him, the difficulty of raw materials occurs due to supply from collecting merchants continue to decrease following the farmer did not menderesnya because the price of rubber fell.

The supply is getting weaker as it is also the rainy season.

The price of rubber or bokar material in North Sumatra is only around Rp5,000 to Rp7,000 per kilogram.

The price is considered farmers are not in accordance with production costs or inadequate cost of living so that farmers choose not menyadao sap and switch professions such as construction workers and manufacturers.

"Farmers claim that the rubber will only be able to support them if the price is at least Rp10,000 per kg," said Edy.

He acknowledged, falling prices at farmer level bokar influenced the selling price down in the international market.

SIR20 selling price in October 2017 for example live 1.43 US dollars per kg than in January 2017 which had reached 2.11 US dollars per kg.

"If prices continue to fall, it is feared that the supply will be even less and the rubber manufacturers will not be able to operate or even close," he said.

He admitted, all this time to cover the shortage of supply from North Sumatra, entrepreneurs bring bokar from Aceh, Lampung, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

"Supply bokar from other regions to maintain the confidence of buyers from abroad and avoid fines," said Edy.

Rubber farmers in Labuhanbatu, Sumut, K Siregar claimed to have more than one year not to take care of rubber garden and turned into a driver of urban transportation and intercity.

"Where else can rely on rubber for living expenses if the price of rubber is only around Rp 5,000 per kg," he said.

Previously, he said, the benchmark price of rubber is one kilogram of rubber equal to two kilograms of rice.

"Now one kilogram of rice wrote at most Rp8,000 per kg," he said.