LIBERIA: Firestone doubts future of rubber production

Firestone, which runs the largest rubber plantation in Liberia, is struggling to keep the plant running as the price of the commodity plummets.

The price of rubber per pound has dropped from USD 2.50 cents to USD 0.53 cents, and that the management spends USD 2.00 to produce a pound. The price of rubber has declined steadily since 2008.

The company, which employs about 8,000 persons, has already laid off part of its workforce on the plantation, but it may not be able to keep the business running if prices continue to fall, Ed Garcia, Firestone Liberia’s Managing Director told Anadolu Agency on Friday (22 Jan 2016).

“The drop has greatly impacted us, and the problem could get even worse,” Garcia said. “It’s a question of the survival of the fittest.” The company has reduced its production by 75 %, Garcia said. “We are losing a lot of money, and, right now we are borrowing heavily….” “We are still rebuilding the farm, cutting down all the old rubber trees and replanting, and we will not be at full production for several years,” he added.

The company is meanwhile exploring all possible means to reduce its costs of operations, Garcia explained. Firestone also broadcasts statements about the challenges to employees via its own radio station.

“We are working very hard to reduce costs and to survive, the objective is to avoid massive layoffs; we have commenced smaller scale downsizing for now,” Garcia said. He would not say how many employees have been laid off so far. The Liberian economy is struggling to recover from the Ebola crisis, in which workers and investors fled the country.

Source: Anadolu (News) Agency, Ankara, Turkey; 25 Jan 2016
(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)