2. IntroductionPDP Sepali (IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/23) HistoryN Jayawardana (IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/21) Internal Information of Rubber Industry SY Sathurusinghe (IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/40) SWOT AnalysisKGI Udayangani (IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/13) RDSA Senevirathne(IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/36) External InformationG Dissanayake (IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/28) Competitive StrategyDNS Attapathtu (IHRA/MSCSM(E)02/38)

3. Rubber - Hevea brasiliensis Grown in the ridges and valleys of the wet zone interior 2 nd major commercial crop,World's 6 th largest exporter, 8 th largest natural rubber producer Two main rubber types – Natural Rubber – Synthetic Rubber Two types of production – Raw rubber – Value added products

4. Origin - South America - 1500s Sri Lanka – 1876 – Henarathgoda Botanical Garden Synthetic Rubber – after 2 nd World War Rubber products manufacturing (tire retreading) -Sri Lanka - 1950s 159,000 hectares of land planted

5. 3 government agencies – Rubber Research Institute (RRI) – Rubber Development Department (RDD) – Thuru-saviya (village level rubber grower associations) Twenty of the Plantation Companies - engage in the rubber cultivation Table 1: Scio economic details – Central Bank Report 2013 Different types of rubber production – Smoked sheets, Latex, Scrap Crepe, Latex Crepe, TSS

6. Strength Availability of NR Theoretical and practical expertise Enough land Leading rubber producer with a solid market position Weakness No expertise in SR Imports of secondary raw materials Low investment in R& D Less support from other related industry – chemical, Engineering

7. Opportunities Better R &D Joint venture manufacturing projects Well-designed central treatment facilities Sri Lanka’s traditional image can be used to promote rubber products Threats Rising costs for materials, labor, Diminishing supply of raw rubber Reducing the skilled labours Increasing aging population

8. Asia/Pacific region 90 % world NR production International Tripartite Rubber Institute - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia Graph 1: Global consumption of natural and synthetic rubber

9. Sustain clustering Enhance manufacturing Improve supply side Enhance technological capabilities Improve marketing Attract and retain investment Use rubber wood to supplement returns Work with public sector as a partner in progress