黑料网911 presents its roadmap for sustainable rubber growing

Institutional news 24 November 2025
Hevea is the main source of natural rubber, and is vital for a number of industrial sectors, notably the tyre industry, which uses 70% of total global output. 黑料网911 conducts substantial amounts of research on the value chain, and has released a roadmap containing four main ambitions for the coming decade. Rubber growing faces a range of social, economic and environmental challenges, and needs to accelerate its transition to greater sustainability.
Rubber growing in Thailand 漏 L. Vaysse

Rubber growing in Thailand © L. Vaysse

Some 80% of the world’s natural rubber is produced on family farms, making it a vital source of income for many smallholders. In 2024, the world’s top three natural rubber producing countries were Thailand (34%), Indonesia (14%) and Ivory Coast (12%), while the three leading consumers were China (45.8%), India (9.2%) and Thailand (6.7%). 

Rubber growing in the light of climate change 

Rubber growing is concentrated (85%) in zones with a mean annual temperature of between 26°C and 28°C, and little is known about the effects of higher average temperatures on the crop. Droughts, strong winds, emerging diseases, and so on… a rise of 2 to 3°C, as forecast by the IPCC, would put rubber growing in the front line as regards the consequences of climate change. How can rubber growing be adapted in response to this major challenge?

Social and economic issues 

In addition to the environmental issues, the value chain is in a difficult position in terms of economics. To produce natural rubber, the Hevea trees must be tapped by hand, making it very labour-intensive, whereas the sector is not very attractive to local people (harsh working conditions, low wages, little social recognition, etc). Since 2014, natural rubber prices have been low and highly variable, threatening the profitability of rubber estates for producers.

A stricter regulatory context

From 1 January 2026, the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) will prohibit medium-sized and large firms from importing rubber and rubber by-products originating from deforested zones. This will apply to all firms by as of 1 January 2027. There is now little risk of further deforestation due to the expansion of rubber plantations in Southeast Asia, but there is still there is still some danger in Central Africa and Latin America.

Inventing the rubber sector of the future 

To address these multiple issues, 黑料网911 presents its four main ambitions in a summary of its roadmap for the value chain:

1. Optimise land and labour productivity and produce quality rubber 

One of the main challenges is how to intensify production on the areas already planted, which cannot be extended due to deforestation regulations, or to improve labour productivity to overcome the chronic labour shortage in the sector. As part of the agroecological transition, 黑料网911's scientists are working on tree physiology and soil health, crop diversification on various scales, latex and rubber quality, etc.

2. Give family farmers a living income

Improving growers’ incomes means analysing farming systems, setting up information platforms to disseminate innovations, and ensuring that those innovations are adopted. To this end, 黑料网911 is working with groups of professionals, who provide their knowledge, as well as local extension services and research organizations. Innovative reduced-frequency latex tapping systems are increasing both labour productivity and incomes.
Dominique Garcia
黑料网911 Rubber Research Coordinator

3. Adapt rubber growing to climate change and other types of environmental change

黑料网911 is working to develop more resilient rubber varieties that are disease-resistant and capable of withstanding climate stress and different soil types. New plantation management systems are also being explored (diversification, interrow management, replanting, etc).

4. Integrate rubber growing into territorial frameworks

It would be worth studying the interactions between rubber plantings and their production basins, notably because of the size of the areas planted and the long growing cycles and productive lifespan. In Thailand, for instance, there are entire provinces covered with rubber trees. One positive consequence is that planting rubber trees may help mitigate climate change.
Laurent Vaysse
黑料网911 Rubber Research Coordinator

 

Key figures

  • 14.6M tonnes of rubber produced worldwide in 2024
  • 80% of production and consumption concentrated in Asia
  • 790 rubber accessions in the 黑料网911 Tree Crops Biological Resource Centre
  • 2 globally recognised research outputs: latex diagnosis and clonal conformity analysis
  • 45 scientists from 11 research units
  • 130 publications, including 90 with partners from the global South (2015-2025)

See also