Rubber sector risks irrelevance without urgent action: CRTA Chief warns

CRTA Chairman Harin de Silva calls for unified action for revival and global competitiveness of sector at 106th AGM

- BY CHARUMINI DE SILVA

■Highlights industry faces labour shortage; skilled tappers aging, youth not joining as challenges

■Calls for a “Natural Rubber Renaissance” with replanting and financial support

■ Reveals CRTA secures $ 14 m ADB grant for rain guarding to help farmers

■Calls for urgent responses from authorities to mitigate pesta fungal disease spreading

■Wants to use EUDR as competitive advantage, not barrier

■Proposes forming Sri Lanka Rubber Industry Council

THE Colombo Rubber Traders' Association (CRTA) Chairman Harin de Silva said the country's once proud natural rubber industry is now at a crossroad and teetering on the edge of irrelevance unless urgent, collective action is taken.

Speaking at the 106th Annual General Meeting (AGM), he warned that the country's rubber sector, despite its global reputation for quality and sustainability, is slowly being eroded from within. “This AGM is not just a checkpoint, it’s a crossroads,” he told the audience. “The world has changed. The climate has changed. Consumer expectations have changed. And the only question left is: can we?”

Elaborating on Sri Lanka’s rubber industry is steeped in legacy, spanning over 160 years, he said that it has produced generations of skilled tappers, brokers, exporters, and manufacturers as well as has helped define the country's industrial economy.

But that proud history, de Silva stressed, is now at risk of becoming just that history. “On one hand, we are producing some of the finest, ethically sourced natural rubber in the world. Our manufacturers are globally competitive. But on the other hand, 2024 recorded our lowest ever national rubber output, falling below 70,000 tons,” he opined.