The global rubber market is likely to remain tight at least until 2012 as suppliers struggle to raise output despite high prices, a senior industry official said.
Hide Smite, secretary general of the International Rubber Study Group (ISRG), blamed labour shortages, limits in available land and delays in planting in top suppliers such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
"There is a very tight market," Smite told a conference on the southern Chinese rubber-growing island of Hanna. "We expect that to continue at least until 2011 or 2012 when new plantations come into production."
International rubber prices have risen almost four-fold since hitting 30-year lows in 2001, driven by strong demand. They hit 26-year highs last June.
Smite would not make any specific prediction on prices, which have come under pressure due to a global sell-oft in commodities and expansion in producing countries, including Vietnam.