Yokohama Rubber and RAOT hold their fifth joint seminar for Thai rubber farmers

Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that, together with the Surat Thani branch of the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT), it held a seminar event in June to help Thai natural rubber farmers improve the quality and productivity of their natural rubber. Fifty farm households in the Surat Thani area participated in the event. Each participating household received a complimentary 250 kg of fertilizer developed using RAOT’s specialist knowledge. The seminar is the fifth held by Yokohama Rubber and RAOT since 2020.

In January 2020, Yokohama Rubber signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the RAOT to cooperate in efforts to provide economic support for Thai natural rubber farmers and to improve traceability to ensure transparency and soundness of the natural rubber supply chain. The MOU and events held under it are concrete actions based on Yokohama Rubber’s “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber.” This seminar event was held in the Surat Thani area, home to Yokohama Rubber’s Thai natural rubber processing company Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd., as part of support for farmers under the MOU. The farmers who received fertilizer are cooperating in follow-up surveys on its effect on the physical properties and productivity of their natural rubber.

A founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), Yokohama Rubber revised its “Procurement Policy for Sustainable Natural Rubber” in September 2021 and is strengthening its collaboration with GPSNR activities. The recent seminar event in Thailand reflects the principle of “Support for suppliers, including small-scale farmers, and other parties involved in the supply chain” set forth in the Procurement Policy. Yokohama Rubber will continue to implement and announce initiatives in line with the action guidelines stipulated in this policy. Yokohama Rubber also is endeavoring to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. As part of these efforts, the Yokohama Rubber Group is promoting the procurement of sustainable raw materials, including natural rubber. Also December 2022, Yokohama Rubber signed an MOU with an Indonesian natural rubber supplier, and the two companies held a seminar event for small-scale natural rubber farmers in Indonesia.

The sustainability initiatives included in Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), Yokohama Rubber’s medium-term management plan for fiscal years 2021–2023, are based on the concept of “Caring for the Future.” By implementing sustainability initiatives under this concept, Yokohama Rubber is endeavoring to help resolve social issues through its business activities.