Pressure on forests
Rapid plantation expansion can come at the expense of forests. In 2019 the World Bank attributed about 6% of Ivorian deforestation to rubber.
Rubber
Côte d'Ivoire is Africa's largest natural rubber producer, driven by smallholders. Sankora helps factories and cooperatives link each delivery to its plantations, improve delivered quality and make the price clear to every farmer.
Rubber
A fast-growing sector
Ivorian rubber output grew almost tenfold in under twenty years, reaching about 1.6 million tonnes in 2023. The country now ranks among the world's leading producers.
Rubber relies largely on about 180,000 smallholders, who supply some forty primary processing plants. Tapping provides a regular income all year round.
Natural rubber mainly feeds the tyre industry. Major manufacturers expect their suppliers to provide documented, deforestation-free origin.
1stnatural rubber producer in Africa: Côte d'IvoireSource: Économie ivoirienne, industrial and export agriculture
≈ 1.6 million tof rubber produced in Côte d'Ivoire in 2023Source: Économie ivoirienne, industrial and export agriculture
≈ 180,000smallholder rubber farmersSource: AllAfrica, Ivorian rubber sector (October 2024)
Where it is grown in Africa
Where rubber is grown in Africa
Côte d'Ivoire alone provides most of Africa's output. Several countries around the Gulf of Guinea and in Central Africa make up the rest.
Côte d'IvoireAfrica's largest producer, among the world leaders.
NigeriaAfrica's second producer, far behind Côte d'Ivoire.
LiberiaLarge, long-established industrial plantations.
GhanaGrowing industrial and smallholder plantations.
CameroonOutput mostly from agro-industrial estates.
The value chain's challenges
What weakens the growth of Ivorian rubber
Little training in tapping
Tens of thousands of smallholder plantations supply factories, often through intermediaries. Poor tapping exhausts the trees and shortens the life of plantations.
Price volatility
The farm-gate price follows world prices and levies. When farmers do not understand how their price is calculated, trust erodes and they switch buyers.
From factory back to farm
Rubber is mixed from the first processing stage. Without recording deliveries from field buyers and collectors, it becomes impossible to prove the origin of an exported lot.
Quality of delivered rubber
Cup lump quality varies with drying and impurities. These differences lead to disputes over the weight and price paid.
What markets require
Clean, consistent rubber (dry rubber content, impurities), reliable supply for factories, tyre makers' sustainability commitments and, for Europe, the EUDR.
How Sankora helps you
How Sankora can help improve the rubber value chain
Technology does not solve everything. Here is what Sankora can practically put in place in this value chain, with simple, reliable tools, to know the field better, track actions and prove results.
Link factory deliveries to plantations
Middlemen and collectors record each delivery under the grower's name and plantation. The factory can prove the origin of its rubber for the EUDR.
Farmer and plot register Purchasing and lot traceability EUDR compliance
Check new plantations before their first tapping
Each newly registered plantation is compared with 2020 forest cover and protected areas: a problem shows up before the first delivery, not at export.
A payment the grower understands
For each delivery, weight, dry rubber content applied, price and deductions are recorded. The grower receives the breakdown of what is paid.