Rubber farmers will be producing and marketing motorcycle tires in 2019. The brand name of the tires is “Pilipinas Agila Tires”, which will be launched by the first quarter of 2019.
Philippine Rubber Farmers’ Association (PRFA) and Leo Tire Manufacturing Corp. (LTMC) will work together to help farmers to manufacture raw rubbers to motorcycle tires and small tractor tires.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said that this program is a part of the Department of Agriculture’s program in improving the livelihood of the farmers.
“This will virtually free the rubber farmers from the control of traders who base their buying prices for raw rubber called cup lumps on world market prices which are low now,” Piñol added.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
According to Piñol, with the arrangement made by PRFA and LTMC with DA, LTMC will manufacture the “SPR 20” by processing the semi-processed rubbers of the farmers. Subsequently, PRFA will serve as farmers’ cooperative that would purchase all the rubber of their members and process these into SPR 20. PRFA will consist of rubber farmers.
Respectively,PRFA will sell the SPR 20, raw material for tires, to LTMC for final processing of tires. The outcome would be sold back to PRFA at factory prices. The high value-tires would be sold by farmers to potential buyers Piñol said.
As cited in Arcalas’ report in Business Mirror, Piñol said processing farmers’ raw rubber into high-value products, such as tires, is the solution to stop traders and middlemen from manipulating the price of rubber cup lumps.
Piñol also added that this project also hinders farmers to cut down their rubber trees. Prices of raw material of rubber have dropped by 75%, from Php 100 to the current price of Php25 per kilo.
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