The Sri Lankan rubber industry consists of three main sectors namely the plantation industry that grows and harvest latex, the rubber products manufacturing industry and the rubber wood based industry. In 2006 a total of 118,000 ha were under rubber cultivation, which produced a total of 109,153 MT of raw rubber. Rubber products manufacturers in Sri Lanka consumed 62,810 MT of locally grown rubber for value added products such as tires, gloves, mats, automotive parts and foam rubber. This accounts for 57% of the total raw rubber production in Sri Lanka. The raw rubber exports in year 2006 was 46,343 MT (Figure 01). |