Natural rubber: Extraction

The smuggled seeds that moved an industry to Asia

Natural rubber comes from Hevea brasiliensis, a tree native to the Amazon. Conway recounts how Henry Wickham smuggled seeds to Kew in 1876, seeding plantations in British Asia that soon overtook Brazil. Trees grow for several years before tapping and are then tapped for decades. Tappers cut a thin slice of bark early in the morning and collect latex in cups. Latex is coagulated into sheets or lumps, then milled into technically specified blocks such as TSR20, or concentrated for gloves. Smallholders supply most output.

Natural rubber comes only from tapping the Hevea tree, so supply depends on how many trees are in tapping age and how often farmers tap them. Most rubber is grown by smallholders in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and, increasingly, West Africa. Farmers tap less when prices are low or rains are heavy, so output responds to price within months, but planting decisions take seven years or more to show up. The latex then goes down one of three routes: block rubber (TSR) for tyres, ribbed smoked sheets (RSS) for tyres and premium goods, or latex concentrate for gloves and foam. Yields range from about 0.7 t/ha in Indonesia to 2.3 t/ha in India (FAOSTAT 2024).

Methods compared

How each method works

Families tap a few hectares each, sell cup lumps or field latex to dealers and crumb factories, which make TSR 20 blocks for tyre makers. Ageing trees and low prices in the 2010s slowed replanting. Thai state agencies run central rubber markets.

Low-cost and flexible, but quality varies and supply depends on millions of farmers' tapping decisions.

Large estates and state farms tap on a schedule with hired tappers and process on site. China's farms in Hainan and Yunnan grow rubber for strategic reasons. In Malaysia many estates switched to oil palm, and output fell from 1.53 Mt (1980) to 0.39 Mt (2024).

More consistent quality, but higher labour cost; China's plantations sit at the climatic edge of the crop.

Smallholders and agro-industrial companies have planted rubber since the 1990s and 2000s, selling cup lumps to local factories that export TSR. Cote d'Ivoire is now the third-largest producer and a key supplier to Europe.

Fastest-growing supply source, but new EU deforestation rules require plot-level traceability.

About 13 lakh growers, mostly in Kerala, tap small holdings and roll latex into sheets that are smoked into RSS 4, the Indian benchmark grade. The Rubber Board, under the Ministry of Commerce, gives replanting subsidies and an ATMA-funded project is planting in the North East.

High yields per tapped hectare, but holdings are small and output covers only about 62% of national use.

Who does it: global

Who does it: India

India is the sixth-largest producer and second-largest consumer of natural rubber. It produced 8.75 lakh t against consumption of 14.10 lakh t in 2024-25, and 9.05 lakh t against 14.27 lakh t in 2025-26 (Rubber Board via Lok Sabha and UNI, Oct 2026). Imports were 578 kt worth $1.05 billion in 2024 (UN Comtrade), carrying a duty of 25% or Rs 30/kg, whichever is higher.