KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Rubber Industry Board (SRIB) has refuted allegation by the president of the United Sabah Smallholders Association, Chua Men Nam, that the rubber prices in the state are the lowest in the country.
SRIB general manager Datuk Harris Mathews, said instead the prices were higher than in Peninsular Malaysia even after taking into account the distance of 1,300 km from Kota Kinabalu to Port Klang or Singapore, where the rubber needed to be trans-shipped to importing countries.
He gave an assurance that SRIB will continue to pay fair prices for the rubber purchased from smallholders, taking into consideration the condition and quality of the raw rubber.
“It is an undeniable fact that the costs of purchasing, processing and marketing of rubber in Sabah are higher than in Peninsular Malaysia due to additional shipping costs and comparatively poor infrastructure in the state.
“The state government recognises these shortcomings. It has initiated a RM30 million programme, Rubber Production Incentive Scheme, since August 2012 to ensure that rubber prices in Sabah are similar to that in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in a statement here today.
Mathews said SRIB has also since 2011 encouraged smallholders to produce cup-lumps instead of unsmoked sheets to avoid variations in dry rubber content.
“Currently, 60 per cent of all raw rubber produced by smallholders are in the form of cup-lumps, with the aim of achieving 90 per cent production in cup-lumps.
He said the imposition of raw rubber cess was a preventive measure which did not have any effect on the rubber prices paid by SRIB to the smallholders.
Mathews said it was to ensure that all raw rubber produced in the state was processed in Sabah.
“This will ensure sufficient raw materials to the three local rubber processing factories which employ almost 300 local workers. By asking for the raw rubber cess to be removed, it shows that Chua is not supporting the local manufacturing industries.
“Instead Chua wants the raw rubber to be sent to factories in Peninsular Malaysia for processing for the benefit of two or three ‘towkays’ and to the detriment of the local rubber factories,” he said.
He said the Sabah government did not ban raw rubber being taken out of the state as long as the cess was paid.
“The reason being that smallholders are given assistance by the government amounting to RM14,000 per hectare to cover the costs for land clearing, planting and maintenance for five years which include fertilizers, chemicals and construction of agricultural roads.
“SRIB provides free management of the areas developed by the board till maturity. In addition, SRIB provides free training to smallholders, provides free latex cups, spouts, hangers, tapping knives and maintain the agricultural roads as its corporate responsibility,” he said.
“It is untenable for the so-called rubber dealers or ‘towkays’ who have not put in any effort and finance in developing the rubber industry to take the yield and make profit out of the efforts of SRIB,” he said. – Bernama