Southern Thailand is now the center of natural rubber production, accounting for 60% of the natural rubber produced in Thailand. Surat Thani is an especially very important place for us because it is where Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. (YTRC) is located, the Yokohama Rubber Group’s natural rubber processing subsidiary. However, in recent years, there have been confirmed outbreaks of leaf blight in the para rubber trees, requiring relevant countermeasures. That is why Yokohama Rubber has decided to start an initiative for sustainable natural rubber in Surat Thani.

Yokohama Rubber began investigating natural rubber plantations in Surat Thani Province, Thailand from June 2019.
We have visited and interviewed 250 farmers, mainly YTRC's business partners, by the end of May 2022.
Although the survey was temporarily suspended due to the spread of COVID-19 infection, during the period when the infection was under control, the survey was limited to those farmers who took thorough measures against infection and were willing to accept our visits.
The survey identifies and maps the location of plantations to ensure that they are not in natural parks or protected areas. We also check the number of years the plantation has been cultivated and whether the land is registered with the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) to make sure it is not illegal land and that the land development has not led to deforestation. For plantation workers, we check their work schedule, including working hours and days, whether they have a work quota, whether they are free to quit their jobs, whether they have health insurance, whether there are children under 18 years old on the plantation and how many are working there, and confirm that there is no forced labor or child labor. No illegality has been found in the farm survey to date. In addition, we ask if there are any difficulties involved in running natural rubber plantations. Through the survey, we were able to learn about the problems faced by the plantations and the issues that need to be resolved. We will continue this survey in the future, and 500 plantations will be surveyed by the end of 2023. Yokohama Rubber will accumulate the survey results to analyze the issues faced by natural rubber plantations, and use the data to contribute to the sustainable management of natural rubber farmers, as well as improve traceability.

The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., and Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) Surat Thani jointly held a seminar event to help Thai natural rubber farmers improve the quality and productivity of their natural rubber in June 2022. Fifty farmers from the Surat Thani area participated in the event and each received a complimentary 250kg of fertilizer developed using RAOT’s specialist knowledge. The fertilizer contribution was warmly received and greatly appreciated by all participants.
In January 2020, Yokohama Rubber signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the RAOT to cooperate in efforts to provide economic support and improve traceability to ensure transparency and soundness of the natural rubber supply chain. The MOU is a concrete action based on Yokohama Rubber’s “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber.” This seminar event has been held since December 2020 as part of the support to farmers under this MOU, and this was the third such event.