Columbia Rubber Plantations Grow

From the LA Times:

Until recently, few shared it in Colombia, where pests and poor soil were thought to make rubber plantations unfeasible. Southeast Asia is the source of 94% of the world's rubber supply. The success of the 1,200-acre Mavalle operation was considered an anomaly. Colombia accounted for only a tiny fraction of the 11 million tons of rubber harvested worldwide last year.

But the doubling of rubber prices since 2007 to about $2.25 per pound, along with advances in soil management, are once again spurring interest in the cultivation of rubber in South America. Giant agribusinesses as well as small entrepreneurs are planting thousands of acres in this sparsely populated region, hoping to cash in.

In Colombia, rubber tree planting has increased tenfold over the last decade to 25,000 acres, a figure that could triple again by 2016. Last year's harvest of 3,200 tons of rubber is projected to reach 35,000 tons by 2020.

Driving rubber prices higher are brisk car sales in China, India and other emerging nations. That has created a corresponding demand for tires, which soak up 70% of the world's natural rubber production, said Raul Nizo, the business manager for Mavalle, which is owned by Colombian billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento.