As natural rubber's prestige declines and synthetic rubber's dominance in the tire industry grows, converting it to synthetic rubber can enhance its economic value. Indonesia continues to import synthetic rubber, up from 304,923 tons in 2020 to 370,609 tons in 2021. However, synthesizing natural rubber takes more research and ingenuity. Indonesia, the second-largest natural rubber producer, can produce synthetic rubber, although the chemical composition needs more investigation.Tires, which use synthetic rubber, drive rubber demand. Azis Pane, the head of the Indonesian Tire Entrepreneurs Association (APBI), thinks synthetic rubber will replace natural rubber. Indonesia produces only three synthetic rubbers: SBR, PBR, and SBL. Merrijantij Punguan Pintaria, the Ministry of Industry's Forestry and Plantation Products Industry Director, claimed that the downstream rubber industry, such as tires, requires 11–12% synthetic rubber of the entire raw material.Indonesia's synthetic rubber imports are estimated to reach 370,000 tons in 2021, worth US$840 million, to meet the industry's needs. NBR, IIR, IR, and EPR are also imported. The tire sector uses most of the nation's synthetic rubber, although other businesses like paper packaging, rubber goods, tire retreading, shoe soles, and others also use it.Link di fonte: https://www.kompas.id/baca/ekonomi/2023/07/19/indonesia-bisa-kembangkan-karet-sintetis-secara-masif (ICE GIACARTA)

Fonte notizia: Kompas - 19 July 2023