Thai rubber association ready for EU regulatory bounce
The Rubber Authority of Thailand said it is ready to comply with a new European Union (EU) deforestation regulation and has, among other moves, registered over 1.47 million rubber plantation workers covering more than 79 acres of land.
This effort allows for retroactive examination of all Thai rubber products entering the EU market, said Nakorn Takkavirapat, governor of the association.
The European Union's deforestation regulation will take effect in 2024 and aims to prevent the import of products linked to deforestation and forest degradation.
The rubber association has also collected data from 1,106 agricultural institutions with a total of 334,765 members. Additionally, data from rubber businesses, such as plantation details (size, location, rubber species, etc.), and production quantities have been compiled, according to Nakorn.
His association has incorporated data from the Department of Forestry and Global Forest Watch to identify rubber plantation locations that encroach upon protected forest areas to ensure compliance with the EU regulation.
The rubber association has developed a central data system for rubber trading that includes unique buyer and seller codes, product types, weight, and rubber prices for every purchase. This enables the origin of all rubber products to be tracked, Nakorn said.
