The production of natural rubber has fallen about 50% from January to April year-on-year due to the drought, according to a deputy chairman of the Rubber Holder Co-operatives Federation of Thailand.
During the first four months of this year, rubber farmers had been unable to collect as much latex as usual, and it was doubtful full-scale latex collection could resume next month in the face of the continuing shortage of water, Pairat Joeychum said in Phatthalung province on Friday.
"Rubber plantations in many areas in the South, the North and the Northeast have been destroyed by fire and drought. Rubber trees have died," said Mr Pairat, who also heads a rubber farmers' organisation in the southern province of Phatthalung.
Production of latex was down 60% and smoked rubber sheets down 70% in Phatthalung. Nationwide production could fall by 50%, he said.
Consequently, traders were competing in buying natural rubber and that was raising rubber prices daily. The latex price had risen to 62 baht per kilogramme and was likely to reach 70 baht in the future, Mr Pairat said.
The price earlier slid to about 30 baht due largely to lower demand from China and lower oil prices. Thailand has produced slightly more than 4 million tonnes of rubber annually over the past few years.
