PETALING JAYA: About 400,000ha, or 40%, of the total rubber plantations operated by smallholders nationwide have been found to be inactive or not consistently producing rubber, says Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.

       She said should the entire 150,000 smallholders of rubber plantation be managed efficiently and consistently, RM30bil worth of rubber production could be generated.

       “Right now we estimate there are 40% whose results are inconsistent, sometimes active, sometimes inactive...as such we want to coordinate these inconsistent rubber areas to ensure their production continues to be consistent to increase yields.

       “Among the reasons why these rubber plantations are inactive or production is inconsistent is because no one is tapping, smallholding owners are old and no one wants to manage the plantation,” she said at the groundbreaking ceremony of Crepe Rubber Processing Centre and Rubber Industrial Transformation Project.

       According to her, the ministry and related agencies are looking for ways to resolve the issue, among others by creating cooperatives in the rubber plantation areas identified to bring smallholders under one entity.

       She said that through this method, the cooperatives created can act to manage inactive or inconsistent rubber plantations so that rubber production can be optimised.

       “So this cooperative can explore and identify rubber plantations in the area and discuss with landowners so that the cooperative can take over the management of these inactive plantations,” she said. — Bernama