Crude rubber exports from North Sumatra increased 18.1 percent in March 2022 compared to the previous month. The increase was mainly driven by rising demand from the main export destination countries, namely China, Brazil and Turkey. There was a sharp downward trend in export volume at the beginning of the year due to weak market demand and delays in shipments. “The increase in rubber export volume in March was quite significant from 28,698 tons to 33,882 tons. We hope that this increase in export volume can be consistent throughout the year," said Executive Secretary of the North Sumatran Indonesian Rubber Company Association (Gapkindo) Edy Irwansyah, in Medan, Saturday (9/4/2022). Edy said crumb rubber from North Sumatra was exported to 31 countries in March. The five destination countries with the largest export volumes were Japan (38.70 percent), China (9.03 percent), Brazil (8.66 percent), Turkey (7.56 percent), and Canada (7.42 percent). There were no rubber exports from North Sumatra to Russia in March because the rubber carriers stopped operating due to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Previously, Russia was one of the destinations for North Sumatra's rubber exports with a volume of around 374 tons per month.
"However, the cessation of rubber exports to Russia does not affect the domestic rubber industry because the volume is not significant," said Edy. He said the increase in export volume was also driven by improved production because the condition of leaf fall in the gardens that had occurred since early February had begun to recover. Leaf fall is a natural process that occurs at a certain period and can cause a decrease in production by up to 30 percent. Although the export volume increased significantly, continued Edy, the average price of crumb rubber on the world market declined. The average price of TSR 20 (technical Specified Rubber) on the Singapore futures exchange in March was 174.62 US cents, down from 179.57 US cents in the previous month. The downward trend is still happening this April and on Thursday (7/4/2022) trading has touched 173.4 US dollars. "The decline in rubber prices was triggered by fears of declining demand from China because some of their cities have returned to lockdown due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases," said Edy.
Head of the Belawan Agricultural Quarantine Center Andi PM Yusmanto said exports of agricultural commodities were one of the main pillars of the North Sumatran economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The demand for superior commodities from North Sumatra, namely crude palm oil, crumb rubber, and coffee beans, continues to increase. "New commodities continue to emerge and penetrate the market in a number of countries," said Andi. The increase in coffee bean exports, said Andi, is also one that continues to be encouraged because demand is quite high. Coffee production is still relatively low compared to demand. Assistance to farmers is continuously carried out to increase production. Andi said they are targeting an increase in the value of exports from North Sumatra this year by 35 percent. This target will continue the upward trend in recent years. In 2021, the value of North Sumatra's agricultural exports will reach IDR 28.9 trillion, an increase of 22.05 percent compared to 2020 of IDR 22.6 trillion. Director of PT Wahana Graha Makmur, Dianto, said that as coffee exporters, they assist farmers to increase production. "We distributed seeds, fertilizers, and did some experiments to increase farmers' production," he said. One that is being tested is to make the spacing closer together with less adjustment in order to get higher production. Production of Arabica coffee plantations in North Sumatra is currently 500-800 kilograms per hectare per year. With plant spacing engineering, it is estimated that production can increase up to 2 tons.
