Around one third of all the rubber in the world comes from Thailand’s forestsSudden drop in Chinese demand has compounded a longer term global oversupply crisis to push prices off a cliff
They work in the predawn gloom tapping trees for the “white gold” that has made their country the world’s top rubber producer – but as prices plunge due to the US-China trade war, Thai farmers are giving up the sap.
Thai latex makes everything from tyres and condoms to baby pacifiers and surgical gloves, the fruit of the rubber trees cultivated across endless acres of the country.
But the rubber trade is at a crossroads as a bitter dispute between the world’s two biggest economies ricochets across Southeast Asia with unexpected consequences.
Countries like Vietnam are benefiting as manufacturers migrate from China to avoid punishing tariffs on exports to the US.
But in Thailand, the price of rubber has slumped 20 per cent since June, as those same tariffs bite hard on demand from factories in China – the market for more than half its latex exports.
Some of Thailand’s rubber workers are being forced to abandon their plantation jobs for factory work.
“I couldn’t feed my children anymore,” said Annita, who used to work 10 hours a day harvesting latex in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, making just US$7 a day, less than the minimum wage and half the going rate several years ago.
