Information Center for Natural Rubber

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The Future Development of Natural Rubber Production and Quality in Indone ia

Introduction
Natural rubber has been and will stay as an important export product for Indonesia. The country is currently the second largest producer of natural rubber in the world after Thailand. Projection of production, domestic consumption and export up to the year !"! are gi#en in the following figure.

The present $uantities of rubber by type are %!& Technically 'pecified Rubber (T'R), *& Ribbed 'mo+ed 'heet (R''), ,& -atex Concentrate and "& others. The Indonesian T'R is 'tandard Indonesian Rubber or 'IR. The major grades are 'IR ! and R'' ". Rubber produced in Indonesia is mainly exported directly to industrial countries or transhipped through 'ingapore, and most of it is used in the production of tyres. 'mallholder rubber co#ers .,& of the total Indonesian rubber area (,. % million hectares) and contributes /0& of the total rubber production in Indonesia which was ".01 million tons in "%%1.
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The majority of smallholder raw materials is meant to produce 'IR and could be generali2ed as field coagula deri#ed from either acid or natural coagulation of latex that ha#e undergone maturation to #arious extents at different moisture contents. These coagula are purchased by 'IR factories in the form of slabs, unsmo+ed sheets or lumps. 3enerally, smallholder coagula were typified as containing plenty of dirt and produce dry rubber of low PRI, particularly when deri#ed from slabs and scraps. 4igh dirt le#els were normally found in thic+ coagula. The dirt consisted of bar+ sli#ers, lea#es and twigs which often were with purpose incorporated to absorb moisture, thereby retaining as much water as possible inside the coagula to pre#ent it from losing weight during storage. This deleterious practice was due to the fact that at the #illage le#el, purchase of these coagula was based on their wet weight, whereas the rubber content was assessed by guessing. 4igh ash contents were found at occasions where the latex was mixed with clay or fine sand prior to coagulation. This happened when slabs were made in trenches dug in the ground or in wooden boxes where the inner surface was smeared with mud that functioned as releasing agent. -ow and highly #ariable PRI of rubber processed from slabs and scraps was the result of deterioration of natural antioxidants in the coagula during maturation, particularly when the coagula were +ept soa+ing in water. The extent of deterioration was further enhanced if the coagulation of the latex portion occurred naturally without the addition of formic acid as the standard recommended coagulant, or with the use of alum, sulfuric acid or fruit juices as the alternati#e to formic acid. The large #ariations in the +ind of raw materials a#ailable in each producing region are caused by infra structural constraints, mar+eting practice and local habits. The Indonesian 3o#ernment and 3ap+indo ha#e been wor+ing together intensi#ely to impro#e the condition and cleanliness of smallholder raw materials by encouraging farmers to produce thin unsmo+ed sheets and collect clean and loose cup lumps in e#ery rubber producing region to achie#e better consistency in technical properties of 'IR throughout Indonesia. 3ood outcome has been achie#ed in all producing regions. Today the smallholders coagula are much cleaner and more consistent due to these efforts. 'IR is generally prepared through blending different types of coagula, for instance 'IR ! is produced by blending sheet materials with slab or scrap. 5nly 'IR 1 and 'IR "! are usually produced from single raw materials i.e. latex and cup lumps, respecti#ely. 5ne fre$uent complaint about T'R gi#en by se#eral consumers is foreign matter contamination. Plastic, wood chips, pieces of bar+, pieces of plastic strings and textile fibers, are among the contaminants reportedly found in 'IR bales. 6s the occurrence of contaminants is hardly detectable through technical specification testing or e#en through #isual inspection, especially when the rubber already has been pressed in the form of a bale, the presence of those contaminants in rubber can cause considerable difficulties to the consumer if not detected in the early stages of processing. Contamination, particularly from wood particles, can also occur from the wooden pallet used for export

pac+aging. These contaminants can enter to the finished bale surface through damage of the bale wrapping.

Natural rubber as an engineering material

Tyre manufacturing companies ha#e become the largest and therefore the most important users of natural rubber (and also of synthetic rubber). 6round /!& of natural rubber supply in the world is consumed by the automoti#e tyre industries. 7ith regard to Indonesian natural rubber, close to %!& goes into tyres. Tyres are outworn during usage, as the rubber portion of the tread is 8eaten up9 by the road due to frictional abrasion. Natural rubber has become an essential component in modern tyres, particularly in radial hea#y:duty tyres due to its superiority in; mechanical properties heat build:up green tac+ green strength cure rate

5n the other hand, natural rubber has been +nown to possess se#eral wea+nesses which limit its use in non:tyre applications, i.e. poor ageing, inferior heat and oil resistance, re#ersion during #ulcani2ation, lac+ of cleanliness and consistency in rheological, degradation and cure properties. 'e#eral of these disad#antages are inherent to the chemical structure of cis: polyisoprene. Inferior properties such as lac+ in cleanliness and inconsistency are certainly not inherent, since inside the 4e#ea tree, the rubber latex is naturally #ery clean and consistent, so in fact it only had to stay that way. 4owe#er, improper practices performed on the latex after dropping from the tree all the way to the tyre manufacturing (from T to T) apparently may result in inferior properties.

Impro#ements in $uality and a#ailability

In recent years, natural rubber producers ha#e been wor+ing together with major consumers, particularly the global tyre industries and shipping companies to bring natural rubber to cope with the re$uirements of the modern tyre industry. <asically these re$uirements can broadly be categori2ed into three C9s, namely; Cleanliness, Consistency and Cost:effecti#eness. Cleanliness ob#iously means freedom from dirt or foreign matter contamination. Consistency sounds pretty straightforward, although the true interpretation can #ary substantially with different users. In general, consistency means constant $uality of raw materials, steady processing
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conditions and good pac+aging practices. 7ith regard to Cost:effecti#eness, natural rubber price must be +ept competiti#e to maintain its mar+et as a 8bul+9 or general purpose elastomer. Tyre industries ha#e opted for technically and economically the right 8tyre grade9 natural rubber to fit their purpose, namely T'R ! and R'' ,. 6s a bul+ elastomer, continuous a#ailability or supply security in the long term at affordable price is deemed #ery important.

Impro#ement in cleanliness
=oreign matter contamination in natural rubber mainly consists of; bar+ and light wood particles, inserted deliberately or accidentally into smallholder coagula> fibers of polypropylene (from used fertili2er:bags), nylon or rafia strings (from ropes to tie coagula together) and textile rags (included to retain wet weight)> wood chips from bro+en pallets. In Indonesia, the most serious drawbac+ is the fact that smallholder coagula in the form of unsmo+ed sheets, slabs or lumps are purchased at the farm gate on wet:weight basis. This trading practice has resulted in a tendency for the farmers to retain as much moisture as possible within the coagulum by soa+ing and?or inserting bar+ sli#ers and other moisture retaining stuff. The Indonesian go#ernment and 3ap+indo ha#e been attempting together to impro#e the cleanliness of smallholder coagula through nationwide commitment of 3ap+indo members to purchase only clean coagula for processing into 'IR !. The go#ernment, namely the @inistry of 6griculture has issued #oluntary $uality standards for smallholder coagula in "%%!, which is presently +nown as 'NI !*: !0/:"%%! ('NI A 'tandard Nasional Indonesia? The Indonesian National 'tandard). The standard classifies rubber raw materials into three types, namely unsmo+ed sheets, thin slabs and loose cup lumps. The $uality is specified on the basis of two criteria, which are thic+ness and dry rubber content. 3ap+indo members ha#e adopted this standard in their national commitment to purchase clean coagula, but the result has not been $uite satisfactory. B#idently the standard can not be properly applied in the field as dry rubber content can not be determined accurately at the farmer le#el. =urthermore, loose lumps are almost always transported in old fertili2er bags made of polypropylene fiber which is presently the most serious contaminant in T'R and conse$uently a threat to its usage as engineering material. 6 re#ision of the coagula $uality standard is currently in the pipeline and will hopefully be issued soon. The new standard will be based on one tangible criterion only which is thic+ness, so that dirt le#el can be assessed according to
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reference photographs. To a#oid occurrence of loose cup lumps which are in#ariably pac+ed in polypropylene bags, the new standard will no more accomodate loose lumps, so the rubber will ha#e to be presented in the form of thin slabs. The new standard will hopefully be included as guideline for purchasing of 'IR raw materials in the mandatory $uality system (@odule I) as of Canuary "%%/. Pre#ention of contamination from wood particles has been attempted through the use of non: wood 'IR pac+aging such as 3oodpac+ @etal box and Bn#iropa+ slip:Tray. The use of metalboxes is definitely on an increasing trend whereas that of slip:Tray is still in the experimental stage.

Impro#ement in consistency
In 'IR processing, impro#ement in consistency has been attempted through; The application of partial air drying at ambient temperature of wet blan+ets prior to o#en drying at ele#ated temperatures. 6ir drying is usually carried out in large drying sheds for "! to "0 days which allows a holding stoc+ of at least half of the monthly processing capacity of the factory. This allows intensi#e blending of rubber from different sources to achie#e better consistency in the end product. It also enables adjustment of Po?@ooney le#els in accordance with specific re$uirements of particular consumers. @oreo#er, partial air drying reduces the se#erity of the subse$uent o#en drying and o#ercomes the possible occurrence of #irgin rubber and white spots in the end product. The establishment of 'tatistical Process Control ('PC) in 'IR manufacture. Duality parameters such as Initial 7allace Plasticity (Po) and @ooney Eiscosity (Er) can be measured rapidly to indicate consistency of the process and product by means of F:R Control Charts, which nowadays are widely applied by most factories. The modern concept of $uality management in#ol#es Duality 6ssurance through the achie#ement of process consistency so that any tendency towards de#iation from certain set #alues is instantly detectable and subse$uently can be rectified while the process is in progress. 6s of Canuary "%%/, all 'IR and R'' manufacturers in Indonesia will be re$uired to adopt a $uality management system in order to recei#e product certification according to the Indonesian National 'tandard or 'NI. This has become mandatory and has been decreed by the @inister of Trade and Industry on Cune "%%*. The decree stipulates each manufacturer to adopt either I'5 %!!", I'5 %!! or @odule I $uality management system. @ost of 'IR processors ha#e opted to adopt the @odule I system, which is the most simple $uality system based on I'5 %!!!:series elements for self assessment, designed particularly for small and medium scale enterprises in anticipation of I'5 %!!! certification later on.

Impro#ement in cost:effecti#eness
6mong the major natural rubber producers, Indonesia is currently reported to ha#e the lowest cost production. Production cost in Indonesia ("%%1) is in the range of G' cent .* per +g against %1 to "!* in other countries. This is a result of the fact that the largest proportion of rubber in Indonesia is produced by smallholders and deri#ed from their holdings which are in the form of agroforests. Rubber estates ha#e gradually been con#erted to oil palm plantations as the obtained re#enue from palm oil has been shown to be at least double to rubber. 5b#iously in the future we will ha#e to rely for the supply of natural rubber on smallholders, not only in Indonesia but also elsewhere.

6groforestry
'mallholder rubber co#ers .,& of the total Indonesian rubber area (,.01 million hectares) and contributes /0& of the total rubber production in Indonesia. 'o far only "1& of the smallholder rubber area has been reached by the 3o#ernmental smallholder de#elopment project. <eside that, between "! and !& of non:project rubber farmers li#ing close to the projects are estimated to ha#e gained an indirect profit in terms of technical information and impro#ed planting materials. The ongoing de#elopment projects of the 3o#ernment are carried out in the form of pac+ages of credit and culti#ation technology to change the smallholder rubber planting scheme +nown as Hjungle rubberI, which is not #ery producti#e, into a good bloc+ planting scheme with good management and high producti#ity. The limited de#elopment funds pro#ided by the 3o#ernment, and the difficulties to obtain soft loans from international sources li+e the 7orld <an+ and 6sian Je#elopment <an+ for the expansion of the projects, will be disad#antageous to the expansion of smallholder rubber, which is the bac+bone of Indonesian rubber, in the future. =rom the #iewpoint of en#ironmental conser#ation, a rubber jungle with a planting scheme similar to a secondary forest has a positi#e #alue, because its habitat is good for en#ironmental conser#ation. Its good hydro:orology characteristics will resist erosion and enrich plant biodi#ersity. It positi#ely supports the 8green mo#ement9, which has ac$uired a lot of interest from big industrial countries who are also the major consumers of natural rubber. This is strengthened by the fact that natural rubber is a polymer deri#ed from renewable resources, which is energy efficient because it uses solar energy. 7hen used as automoti#e tyre material it also sa#es energy because it pro#ides low rolling resistance. Gnfortunately Hjungle rubberI has a low producti#ity so that it does not pro#ide a good income for rubber farmers, particularly when the rubber price in the international mar+ets is not remunerati#e. The jungle rubber system is a low: input agroforestry system in which rubber competes with the regrowth of the natural forest. In the past, people who grew perennials on land could lay a
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claim to it, so rubber agroforestry systems were a means of ac$uiring land. =urthermore, the system is inexpensi#e and re$uires little labour to establish and maintain. 6fter an area is cleared by slashing and burning, rice is planted for the first year or two. 6fter that, rubber is planted along with a #ariety of other useful trees that produce fruit, nuts, timber and rattan. The secondary forest associated with rubber is biologically di#erse, and the forest: li+e en#ironment ma+es for good soil fertility and $uality and watershed management. 5n the whole, the rubber agroforestry systems are sustainable alternati#es to the original slash:and: burn process. The sources of income rubber, fruit, nuts and other tree products are di#erse and the system can easily be replaced by a new plantation when it surpasses maturity. It can also be con#erted into a purestanding rubber plantation or it can be managed as a fruit and timber agroforest. 3ap+indo is concerned about the supply prospect of smallholder rubber in the future, both in terms of $uantity and $uality. The organi2ation is eager to play a role in the impro#ement of the Hjungle rubberI, which in reality has great potentials in sustaining the green era in the future. Therefore 3ap+indo initiates cooperation with the Regional 5ffice for 'outheast 6sia of ICR6= (the International Center for Research in 6groforestry) with financial support from the 6gribusiness Je#elopment Project of G'6IJ Indonesia. The cooperation will de#elop ways to con#ert rubber jungles into an agroforestry system that sustains both en#ironmental conser#ation and rubber farmer9s li#elihood. Pilot projects ha#e been started in 7est Kalimantan ('anggau and 'intang), Cambi (@uara <ungo) and 7est 'umatra (Pasaman) in "%%1. These pilot projects will manage the rubber jungles intensi#ely by planting high yielding clones which are suitable for the 8rubber forest9 system. They will also plant hard:wood trees in between the rubber trees to impro#e the farmers income and the biodi#ersity of the forests. If the pilot projects pro#e to be successful, this alternati#e production system could well yield natural rubber more cost:effecti#ely, as the establishment cost of an impro#ed rubber agroforest is estimated at Rp. "." million per ha, which is substantially less than the current go#ernment de#elopment project costs which are Rp. 1 million per ha for Nucleus Bstate 'mallholders project and Rp. ., million for P@G projects (which is a bloc+ replanting assistance project to existing rubber farmers).

Dr AFS. Budiman
6fter graduating in "%*/ at the <andung Institute of Technology, Jr 6='. <udiman joined the Research Institute of Bstate Crops at <ogor, Indonesia. 4e got his @.'c. (C. Bng) in "%/, at the 5hio 'tate Gni#ersity, G'6 and his Ph.J. at the Institute of Polymer 'cience at the Gni#ersity of 6+ron, G'6 in "%.". 6t RIBC in <ogor, he was responsible for the latex technology research, more in particular the production process of foam and dipped goods, the de#elopment of processes and machinery for the production of crumb rubber and the impro#ement of the technical specifications of natural rubber. =rom "%., on, he ser#ed 1 years as expert?assistant to the Cunior @inister for the Je#elopment of Bstate Crops. 4e conducted policy de#elopment studies and policy formulations on post har#est of tree crops, natural rubber, oil palm, coconut, coffee and cocoa. In "%.., he became Bxecuti#e Jirector of 3ap+indo, the Rubber 6ssociation of Indonesia. 6s such, he is responsible for the daily acti#ities of the association, comprising impro#ement of smallholder raw materials, de#elopment of partnership between association members and rubber farmer groups, total $uality assurance in T'R production and integrated rubber agroforestry. 6mongst other memberships, he is a member of the Committee of Bxpert Rubber 'tatisticians (IR'3), of the 3o#erning <oard of the Jepartment of 6grobusiness and 6groindustry of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, of the 6ccreditation Committee of the National Council for 'tandardi2ation and of the National Research Council of the 'tate @inistry for Research and Technology.

Jr 6='. <udiman, 3ap+indo, Ca+arta:Indonesia 6rticle from Natuurrubber 1 : No#ember "%%*