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Champassak to have rubber processing plant
The Viet-Lao Joint Stock Rubber Company will start building a rubber processing facility in Champassak province this year after the company began growing rubber trees in fiscal year 2004-2005.
At present, Champassak has about 25,000 hectares of rubber trees, with most of them owned by Vietnamese companies, according to the provincial forestry section.
The company will start harvesting rubber when the processing plant is built, section administrator Mr Bouavan Xayalath told Vientiane Times last week.
But the land being allocated for rubber plantations in Champassak is steadily decreasing, and no new concessions will be granted to rubber growers. Luang Namtha and Phongsaly provinces have also called a halt to new rubber plantations because of the lack of available land, he said.
However, cooperation between Laos and Vietnam in this sector will still continue, he added.
During a recent visit by high ranking officials from Vietnam, both sides agreed to increase the size of rubber plantations.
“But we can't say exactly how many hectares of rubber will be planted because there's no plan in place yet,” Mr Bouavan said.
Some rubber plantations extend into Forest Production, Protection and Conservation areas, which is creating problems for forestry management, he added.
The growth of rubber plantations has reduced the area of land available for local people to hunt animals and gather plants, which is essential to their survival.
“But we can't avoid this form of development as investments in rubber make a sizeable contribution to the economy of our province, especially in rural areas. Some local people also get jobs with rubber growers,” Mr Bouvan said.
Every development project has some effect on natural resources and local communities and changes their lifestyle in one way or another.
In the north of Laos, most investors in rubber trees come from China, while in the south they come from Vietnam.
Domestic and international investors have already planted more than 153,000 hectares of rubber trees throughout Laos, yielding more than 3,000 tonnes of rubber, according to a government report.
The government believes that next year, rubber exports from Laos will earn hundreds of dollars.
vientiane times
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