The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has vowed to assist Japanese tire manufacturer Yokohama Rubber Company Ltd. to fully source rubber sap from local suppliers as it plans to expand its production in the Philippines.

In a briefing with trade reporters on June 24, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual said his office aims to help Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. (YTPI), Yokohama Rubber’s unit in the country, increase its local sourcing of raw rubber from the current 51 percent to 100 percent.

Pascual met the company’s executives in Tokyo last week during the three-day Philippine Economic Briefing from June 19 to 21.

Pascual said Yokohama, which is the country’s lone tire producer, eyes to invest around USD60 million (PHP3.5 billion) to boost its production by 5 percent, or additional 500,000 tires annually, from the current 10 million tires per year.

“The sad part is that the sourcing of natural rubber in the Philippines is not fully met by local suppliers. That is why, we committed to help them to source the rubber in Mindanao so they can add value to the tires they are producing locally,” he told reporters.

The DTI chief said his office will be in talks with its counterpart in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to explore opportunities in supplying more raw rubber to the tire manufacturer.

Pascual said 12,000 metric tons of raw rubber valuing nearly PHP1 billion are being sourced by YTPI from the Philippines, with a potential to supply 30,000 MT more.

“In terms of value, that’s also a billion (pesos). That’s additional revenue to the farmers in Mindanao,” he added.

Pascual also believes that the country has sufficient supply of rubber to meet the demand of the Japanese tire producer.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, rubber production in the second quarter of 2023 stood at 112,590 MT, with BARMM leading the rubber production in the country with a total output of 43,150 MT, or 38.3 percent of the total production. (PNA)