China to Host 2011 ANRPC conference

More than a third of the world’s natural rubber supplies go to meeting demand in China, so it is perhaps fitting that the fourth annual Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) conference is being held there. The one-day conference will take place on November 2 in Haikou City, Hainan Province and will be co-hosted by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and the China Natural Rubber Association.

In announcing the date and venue for the 2011 conference, the ANRPC outlined China’s natural rubber activities: Rubber plantations in China currently occupy an area of about 1.03 million hectares, including 0.440 million hectares occupied by trees in different pre-yielding stages. Hainan and Yunnan Provinces occupy nearly 96 per cent of the country’s total rubber area. Young trees are concentrated in the Yunnan Province, where extensive planting prompted by high demand and favourable prices has taken place since 2005. The country’s supply of natural rubber is likely to touch 685,000 tons in 2011 and yield is expected, to improve from 1,143 kilograms last year to 1,161 kilograms this year. Total supply stood at 646,900 tons last year.

Last year China imported 1,761 million tons of natural rubber along with 1,002 million tons imported as compounds containing more than 95 per cent natural rubber. During the year the country consumed 3.3 million tons of natural rubber.