Rubber Growers Complain About Shrinking Price

Muara Teweh, C Kalimantan, Sept 17 (Antara) - Rubber farmers in various areas in the country have complained about falling prices of the commodity lately. "The price fall is a big blow to us after a sharp fall early September 2014," a local farmer Irwansyah said here on Wednesday. Some farmers chose to stop tapping their rubber trees as the price is not worth tapping. Farmers in the regency of Barito Utara, Central Kalimantan said the price of rubber in the past week fell again to Rp5,000 from Rp6,000 per kilogram, far below the normal price of more than Rp1,000 per kilogram earlier. Irwansyah and some farmers in the district of Sungai Barito chose to stop tapping as the price was too low. "They hope the price would rise that they would begin the tapping," he said. He also blamed middlemen for the slump saying traders controlled the market . Farmers depend on middlemen to dispose of their commodity as there is no rubber factory in Sungai Barito although the area has large rubber plantations. Rubber has been a major commodity from Central Kalimantan. There are 35,646 hectares of rubber plantations in Central Kalimantan, which is known more as coal producers. Indonesia is the second largest producer of natural rubber in the world after Thailand.