APROMAC sees opportunity in North America for Ivorian rubber

BARBERTON, Ohio—Just last year, Cote d'Ivoire—commonly known as the Ivory Coast—was recognized as the third largest natural rubber producing country in the world, now accounting for 10 percent of global production.

The country overtook the ranking from Vietnam and now follows behind Thailand, the No. 1 producer, and Indonesia.

According to the Association of Natural Rubber Professionals (APROMAC), a West African agricultural organization dedicated to enhancing rubber production and processing in Cote d'Ivoire, the country is the No. 1 producer in Africa, making up 80 percent of the continent's production.

Currently, Cote d'Ivoire only exports about 7 percent of this production directly to North America, predominantly exporting to Asia (68.5 percent) and Europe (about 20 percent).

But APROMAC is looking to change this.

About a dozen delegates from the Cote d'Ivoire-based organization met with key rubber industry stakeholders in the greater Akron area last month, seeking opportunities to grow the potential of Ivorian rubber by diversifying its exports, adding value to its product and improving training and modernization within the African rubber industry.

Akron Rubber Development Laboratory was the host to this Jan. 14 meet-and-greet, welcoming APROMAC—along with the Greater Akron Chamber and Polymer Industry Cluster, the ACS Rubber Division, and representatives from companies like Bridgestone, Alpha Technologies and other industry professionals—to its Barberton facility.

Folly Folly-Gah, president of International Dynamic Consultants (IDC), was on hand to help introduce APROMAC, which he said is seeking to foster a relationship with the U.S. rubber sector.

IDC "designs and carries out manufacturing projects in Africa," according to the company website, and connects North American companies with business opportunities in Africa. The firm is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, with a second location in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

Folly-Gah, who helped facilitate the meet-and-greet alongside ARDL, said he and IDC represent APROMAC's interests in bridging its international relationships.

"This is probably one of our first big missions," Folly-Gah said, "bringing APROMAC here, to the Rubber Capital of the World."

Michel Koblavi-Dibi, first vice president of APROMAC, said the association represents more than 180,000 planters across more than 550,000 plantations. This includes about 700,000 hectares of planted area.

Koblavi-Dibi, who also is president of APROMAC's body for growers, the Federation of Professional Agricultural Organizations of Growers in the Rubber Sector (FPH-CI), said 90 percent of the growers in Cote d'Ivoire own small "village plantations."

Each grower, he said through a translator, oversees about 4-6 hectares, which provides them revenue for 10 out of 12 months per year.

Lamine Sanogo, APROMAC second vice president, oversees APROMAC's governing body for rubber processors as president of the Association of Natural Rubber Processors (AUPCN).

Cote d'Ivoire, he said, has 35 companies running 40 rubber processing factories, which produce more than 1.6 million metric tons of dry rubber per year. This includes mostly TSR 10 and "sometimes" TSR 20.

"For the moment, we are selling around 7 percent of this production in the USA," Sanogo said. "But now we are targeting to increase this percentage to around 15-20 percent."

Sanogo told Rubber News the main reason for this is to achieve a greater cost benefit for Ivorian rubber.

The U.S. is more profitable, which means better prices for Cote d'Ivoire's growers, he said.

"The growers being fairly compensated allows them to follow best practices when it comes to growing, which actually encourages continuous production and allows more sustainable growth," Sanogo said.

"A demanding market such as the U.S., in terms of quality, should be dealing with quality producers," he said. And Cote d'Ivoire, he added, produces a premium product.

"We produce TSR 10, a high-quality rubber," Sanogo said. "But it is paid by the TSR 20 prices" when exporting to Asia.

"That piece of the math is not adding up," Folly-Gah added.

To achieve this growth in direct exports to the North American market, APROMAC is reaching out to the region's customers and distributors to better understand the industry's needs.

Coordinating the meet-and-greet with industry stakeholders with ARDL's assistance is just one step in expanding Ivorian rubber's business potential.

APROMAC offers specialized training for rubber growers and processors, but it's looking to enhance this by offering a centralized hub for its programs with the development of an academy.

Oumar N'Diaye, executive director of the Interprofessional Fund for Agricultural Research and Consulting (FIRCA), a partner of APROMAC, said the entities together train about 50,000 people per year in growing and processing best practices.

FIRCA provides funding for plant, forestry and animal production sector programs. This includes agronomic and forestry research, technological research for the improvement of agricultural products and processed products, and support for the sustainable improvement of the economic profitability of farms, among many other programs.

"The curriculum is already there," N'Diaye said of the training programs. But the academy will help bring APROMAC's programs together under one roof in addition to affirming the country's rank as a rubber producer in Africa and globally.

Folly-Gah said APROMAC already has land set aside for such an establishment, about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) north of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The association is in the process of benchmarking its plans by exploring different models throughout the global rubber industry.

Folly-Gah said APROMAC already has explored programs and facilities in Asia and Europe and is now exploring U.S. models.

"We want to benefit from this," Folly-Gah said of the benchmarking process. "We don't want to reinvent the wheel. Follow what works, but with a few tweaks."

APROMAC is aiming to complete its benchmarking by this May with plans to begin building in 2026.

The APROMAC leaders emphasized the importance of the organization's structure, how it works with the government and regulators, and the role of its president, Charles Emmanuel Yace—who was unable to attend the Jan. 14 event due to scheduling conflicts.

When it comes to APROMAC's internal governance, Koblavi-Dibi and Sanogo agreed that Yace's role is critical to the association's success.

Much like government branches, the president's role at APROMAC serves as a pillar within a system of checks in balances, as the vice presidents' motivations could often conflict with each other's interests.

Koblavi-Dibi, as FPH-CI president, for example, has a vested interest in achieving higher, premium prices for the rubber to benefit smallholders. Sanogo, on the other hand, may seek lower prices for processor profits as AUPCN president.

Yace, the vice presidents said, ensures peaceful collaboration within APROMAC.

"(Yace) is critical to APROMAC," Koblavi-Dibi said. "He helps us complement each other."

In terms of APROMAC's relation to the country's government, the association advocates for the Cote d'Ivoire industry's needs and works as the go-between for the government/regulators and growers/processors.

"When there's going to be a policy change or there's going to be a policy initiative, these are the guys to talk to when it comes to rubber," Folly-Gah said of APROMAC. "There's no policy that gets approved unless there's a meeting of the minds with these guys."