Cote d’Ivoire becomes third largest natural rubber producing country

Kuala Lumpur – Cote d’Ivoire has overtaken Vietnam in natural rubber (NR) production, now ranking as the third biggest producer globally.

The west African country increased NR output by over 16% year-on-year in 2023, producing just under 1.5 million tonnes, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.

Thailand maintained its leading position with 4.87 million tonnes of production followed by Indonesia at 3.2 million tonnes, recent data from the ANRPC also shows.

Vietnam dropped one place to fourth in rubber-output rankings, with 1.39 million tonnes of production for the year.

Overall, global NR production rose 6.5% year-on-year to 15.140 million tonnes last year, despite declines in output in China, Malaysia and The Philippines.

The growth, ANRPC said in its December NR review, was mainly due to Indonesia’s 13.3% downward review of its output to 2.71 million tonnes in 2022.

Overall, the association said that the year 2023 posed “significant challenges” for the NR industry, particularly in the upstream sector.

“Adverse climatic conditions and the emergence of a new leaf fall disease have adversely impacted NR production,” it noted.

According to ANRPC, an “effective diagnosis” of this new disease remains “elusive”, adding to the industry's difficulties, especially against the backdrop of persistently low rubber prices.

The economic strain on farmers’ livelihood, said the association, has been “further exacerbated” by global events.

These, it said, included “ongoing geopolitical conflicts, the hawkish policies of the US Federal Reserve and the impending European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR).”