Ivory Coast's natural rubber output rose 26 percent in 2017 to 591,000 tonnes and will reach 750,000 tonnes by 2020, the head of the natural rubber association said on Wednesday. Plantations in Africa's top natural rubber exporter have spread into new areas of the country, including the centre, north-west and the east, boosting production and encouraging the regulator to reduce subsidies for the sector.
Ivory Coast forecasts production of 650,000 tonnes in 2018 and 700,000 tonnes in 2019 from 300,000 producing hectares, mostly from small-scale farmers, said Akpangni Attobra, general secretary of the Ivorian natural rubber association APROMAC.