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Rubber production in Sri Lanka

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Rubber Plantation in Southern Province
A woman in Sri Lanka harvesting rubber, c. 1920

Rubber production in Sri Lanka commenced in 1876, with the planting of 1,919 rubber seedlings at the Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens in Gampaha.[1] The total extent under rubber in 1890 was around 50 ha (120 acres) and in the early 1900s it increased to around 10,000 ha (25,000 acres). By 1982 the total extent under rubber was around 180,000 ha (440,000 acres) and the total annual production was 125,000,000 kg (276,000,000 lb). However, the total extent under rubber declined subsequently and at present it is around 120,000 h (430,000 ks)a. Rubber contributes about 0.6% of the total GDP.[2] According to figures published in 2018 by the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, producing 82,600,000 kg (182,100,000 lb) in 2018.[3]

History

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On 12 August 1876, the Colonial Office, on the recommendation of Sir Joseph Hooker, sent 38 cases containing 1,919 rubber seedlings from Kew Gardens to Ceylon.[4] The seedlings were germinated from seeds collected by Sir Henry Wickham in Brazil earlier that year. With a further 300 seedlings sent in late 1876/early 1877.[4] Ceylon was selected by the Colonial Office as the most suitable site to cultivate and propagate the rubber plants, for further distribution to other comparable regions in the Indian subcontinent. The seedlings were planted at the Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens in Gampaha, under the guidance of George Thwaites, the Garden's superintendent. In 1877 twenty-two of these young trees were sent to Singapore, and the seedlings from those trees were distributed throughout Malaysia and Borneo.[4] In 1879 twenty-eight plants were sent to India and Burma.[4] The first of the rubber trees in Ceylon flowered in 1881, and the first experiments in tapping subsequently commenced shortly afterwards. In 1893 over 90,000 seeds were supplied to planters throughout Ceylon, in 1900 there was approximately 405 hectares (1,001 acres) of rubber being cultivated and by 1923 there was over 180,085 hectares (445,000 acres).[4]

Current cultivation

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The traditional rubber growing districts of Sri Lanka are located mainly in the wet zone and include Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Matale, Galle, Matara, Kurunegala, Ratnapura and Kegalle. There is currently over 127,500 ha (315,000 acres) of land under rubber cultivation. A significant proportion of the extent under this crop is cultivated by smallholders. There had been a drop in the extent cultivated in these four districts during the last 20 years. The drop is more pronounced in Kalutara and Ratnapura districts where there is a drop by around 29%. In Kegalle district, the corresponding value is 25%. Rubber is also grown in the districts of intermediate zones of the country. The topography of theses rubber lands vary from flat too very steep. At present about 47,000 ha (120,000 acres) 40% of the rubber lands in the country are managed by 19 regional plantation companies, 68,000 ha (170,000 acres) belong to the private sector. Out of the 115,300 ha (285,000 acres), about 25,700 ha (64,000 acres) (22%) are immature and the balance 89,600 ha (221,000 acres) (78%) are mature. The size of rubber holdings vary widely. Those holdings below 8 ha (20 acres) are considered smallholdings. Rubber lands of extent 8 ha (20 acres) or more are considered as estates. In the year 2005, around 77,000 ha (190,000 acres) (65% of the total extend under the rubber) were in the smallholder sector and 37,000 ha (91,000 acres) (35% of the total extend under the rubber) were in the estate sector.[5]

Distribution of Rubber lands (hectares)[3][6]
District 2014 2010 1992 1982
Colombo 6,466 6,320 10,084 10,317
Gampaha 3,289 3,835 4,840 3,364
Kaluthara 24,195 28,765 41,237 47,632
Kandy 1,643 1,854 2,079 2,127
Matale 1,190 4,005 2,530 6,637
Nuwara Eliya 27 6 224
Galle 4,356 5,982 11,234 14,637
Matara 3,101 4,005 5,299 6,637
Hambanthota 210 155 23 67
Kurunagala 3,244 3,018 3,229 3,290
Puttlam 17 193
Badulla 1,601 1,626 340 969
Monaragala 5,876 4,805 1,539 2,192
Ratnapura 22,065 26,605 29,926 29,329
Kegalle 34,453 37,165 45,794 45,919

Production of Rubber

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A few decades ago, seedling rubber was planted but at present vegetative propagated rubber accounts to nearly 70% of cultivated rubber. The variety PB 86 predominates but clones of the RRIC 100 series such as RRIC 121 and RRISL 2000 series developed by the Rubber Research Institute are increasingly used in new and replanting. These new varieties are characterised by high yields and a number of other desirable feature.[7]

Rubber exports

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At present nearly 60% of the rubber produced is used locally and the balance in exported. In 1997, the corresponding value was 42%. Thus, the local consumption of rubber has considerably increased during the last decade. Rubber is exported as smoked sheet, sole crepe, latex crepe and Technically Specified Rubber (TSR). In 2007 18,100,000 kg (39,900,000 lb) sheets were exported. Rubber contributing over US$ 890 million in 2019 to the economy of Sri Lanka.[8] Sri Lanka government aims to growth rubber industry US$ 2 billion by 2025.[9]

Year Natural rubber

(mil. USD) [10]

Total Export

(mil. USD)

2000 25.5 220
2001 15 205
2002 19.6 214
2003 34.7 275
2004 54.5 353
2005 43 414
2006 86.6 507
2007 96.5 587
2008 110 652
2009 85.6 487
2010 151 722
2011 193 1070
2012 115 938
2013 68.4 947
2014 44.9 907
2015 29 728
2016 33.4 768
2017 43.2 824
2018 39.5 794
2019 890
2020 786

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Natural Rubber and Rubber Based Products from Sri Lanka – EDB Sri Lanka". www.srilankabusiness.com. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  2. ^ "The elasticity of truth: Will Sri Lanka's rubber industry bounce back? | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  3. ^ a b "Statistics". www.rrisl.gov.lk. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  4. ^ a b c d e Figart, David Milton (1925). The Plantation Rubber Industry in the Middle East. Vol. 2. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  5. ^ C.S. Weeraratna and P.A. Weerasinghe (2009). Agriculture of Sri Lanka. Dehiwala: Weerartna. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-955-51646-0-3.
  6. ^ Department of Census and Statistics (1994). Survey on Agriculture Crops and Lives stock 1992/93. Rubber Development Department.
  7. ^ Weeraratna, C.S. (1986). Progress and Potential of the Agriculture Sector. Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science.
  8. ^ "Sri Lanka rubber exports retains bounce on Coronavirus crisis". EconomyNext. 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  9. ^ "Plastics and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka, EDB, Smart Expos launch first-of-its-kind virtual expo | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  10. ^ "The Atlas of Economic Complexity by @HarvardGrwthLab". atlas.cid.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
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