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China's rubber shortages cause worries
12/26/2005
BEIJING, DEC 25 (CEIS): China's rubber shortages have been exacerbated, especially following the drastic production drop this year.
It has already become another rare resource following petroleum, iron ore and non-ferrous metals, according to experts.
The rapid development of the automotive industry and manufacturing has made China a big rubber consumer in the world. It overtook the United States in 2001 to become the No 1 rubber importer in the world, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The natural rubber consumption in 2004 reached 1.8 million tonnes, 21.5 per cent of the world's total. The natural rubber consumption grew by nearly 80% and import increased two-fold in 1999-2004.
This year's output was only about 700,000 tonnes, 1.1 million tonnes short of demand.
China's natural rubber self-sufficiency rate was 60 per cent in 1999, but it dropped to 30 per cent by 2004 and in no time, it would drop to below 20 per cent.
What is worse is that the natural rubber resources in the world are also dwindling and developed countries have stepped up scrambling for international natural rubber resources.
The price of natural rubber on the international market has spiraled to 16,000 yuan/ton, rather unfavorable to related Chinese industries. And natural rubber exporters in the world are seeking to raise the prices.
All these will pose a serious threat to China's economic and national defense security.
Experts appealed for establishing natural rubber production bases overseas in order to raise China's controlling power over global natural rubber resources.
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