COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Sri Lanka intends to grow its rubber industry value to $3 billion from the current $1.2 billion, said Sudharma Karunaratne, secretary to the ministry of plantation industries, at a meeting of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.
She said the country's plan to do so is being prepared with the Asian Development Bank. Sri Lanka's industry has a work force of 200,000, with the rubber-growing sector dominated by smallholders, she said.
Karunaratne added that Sri Lanka has become a source of solid rubber tires for much of Asia.