Product Profile: Natural Rubber

Description: Natural rubber, Para rubber, Hevea Brasiliensis, is a commercial tree economically grown in plantations. Para rubber plant is useful for the latex that bleeds from the stem in the event of wounding. The product of the coagulated latex is rubber.  Rubber is important in the socio-economic life of many tropical developing nations, such as Nigeria and Brazil. Before the 60s, before the era of the oil boom, rubber was one of the agricultural commodities that were the main stay of Nigerian economy. The cultivation of rubber provided bulk employment for the people of the then Mid-West now known as the Edo and Delta states. However, rubber is not native to Nigeria. As the name suggests, it is an introduction from Brazil.

Harvest: The harvesting (Tapping) or rubber is done during the dry season. Tapping normally takes place early in the morning, when the internal pressure of the tree is highest. A good tapper can tap a tree every 20 seconds on a standard half-spiral system, and a common daily "task" size is between 450 and 650 trees. Trees are usually tapped alternate or third daily, although there are many variations in timing, length and number of cuts.

Locations: In Nigeria, Rubber is currently grown in Edo, Delta, Ondo, Ogun, Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Ebonyi and Bayelsa States where the amount of rainfall is about 1800 mm to 2000 mm per annum.

Specifications: Naturally coagulated rubber (cup lump) is used in the manufacture of TSR10 and TSR20 grade rubbers. The processing of the rubber for these grades is basically a size reduction and cleaning process to remove contamination and prepare the material for the final stage drying. The dried material is then baled and palletized for shipment.

A Typical Technical Specification of NSR (Nigeria Standard Rubber):

	NSR10	NSR20
Dirt % wt	≤0.1	≤0.2
Ash % wt	≤0.75	≤1.00
Nitrogen % wt	≤0.60	≤0.60
Volatile matter % wt.	≤0.80	≤0.80
Po (Plasticity)	≥30.00	≥30.00
PRI %	≥50.00	≥40.00

Uses: Because of its elasticity, resilience, and toughness, natural rubber (NR) is the basic constituent of many products used in the transportation, industrial, consumer, hygienic and medical sectors. Of these major end-use markets for rubber, transportation is by far the largest single sector, with tyres and tyre products accounting alone for over 50% of NR consumption. Truck and bus tires would represent the largest single outlet for NR, followed by automobile tires. General rubber goods for commercial and industrial use account for the balance. These non-tyre rubber items include industrial products (for example, transmission and elevator belts, hoses and tubes, industrial lining, and bridge bearings); consumer products (like golf or football balls and other recreational and sports goods, erasers, footwear and other apparel); and articles for use in the medical and health sector (notably, condoms, catheters and surgical gloves) as well as seismic materials (for instance, over 500 and 2,500 buildings are respectively fitted with seismic rubber bearings in China and Japan). Latex articles (typically condoms, gloves, threads, adhesives, and moulded foams) could be included in different categories in terms of end-use.

Export market: About 48% of the global demand for natural rubber comes from China, India and Malaysia which are three major natural rubber consuming countries within the ANRPC (Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries) However, the major buyers of rubber from Nigeria include Canada, France, China, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain and United Kingdom.

Export Price: In general the FOB prices range from USD2,500-3,000 /MT depending on quality and time of year.