SURAT THANI, Thailand — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) is working with the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) to help natural rubber farmers improve quality and productivity.
The Tokyo-based company held a seminar recently in Surat Thani for 50 rubber farmers, where it shared its knowledge and provided the farmers with 500 kilograms of fertilizer developed using RAOT's specialist knowledge.
The meeting was an outgrowth of a memorandum of understanding Yokohama signed in January 2020 with RAOT to provide economic support and traceability for the NR supply chain, the company said.
Along with the seminar, the memorandum provides a program of "that seeks to analyze the issues faced by natural rubber farmers in the Surat Thani area," Yokohama said. The company has an NR-processing company, Y.T. Rubber Co. Ltd., in the region.
Surat Thani is a coastal province on Thailand's eastern coast, facing the Gulf of Thailand.
The company said it hopes the farmers in the region will participate in future surveys "on its effect on the physical properties and productivity of natural rubber."
Yokohama is a founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) and has developed its own Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber. The group also is "endeavoring to achieve" Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations.
Theses efforts include promotion of procurement of sustainable raw materials, including natural rubber, through meetings that allow for the exchange of information with natural rubber suppliers, the company said.
