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By Ishmael F. Menkor
The Rubber Planters Association of Liberia (RPAL) has thrown its full support behind the Government of Liberia’s Executive Order No. 151, which places a moratorium on the exportation of unprocessed rubber, arguing that exporting raw rubber amounts to exporting jobs.
Speaking at the 2025 National Agriculture Fair, RPAL President Madam Wilhimena Mulbah Siaway said the policy is a necessary step toward strengthening Liberia’s value chain and creating employment for thousands of jobless youths.
“Exporting raw or unprocessed rubber means exporting jobs,” Madam Siaway said. “We have thousands of Liberians without work. Once rubber is processed locally, it creates jobs and adds value to our economy.”
She acknowledged that many farmers currently lack the capacity to process rubber, but stressed that the country must begin making sacrifices to transition from exporting raw materials to value-added production.
“In every change, there must be some sacrifices,” she said. “We can compromise our current situation rather than allow our value to be taken away.”
Madam Siaway reiterated that exporting unprocessed rubber only benefits recipient countries through job creation, describing the moratorium as both timely and necessary. She noted that RPAL operates a small processing facility producing Ribbed Smoked Sheets (RSS), but admitted that local processing remains challenging due to limited technical and scientific capacity.
At the agriculture fair, RPAL showcased various rubber products processed by individual plants operating in Liberia. The association also highlighted its efforts to expand rubber farming nationwide, including providing extension services to smallholder farmers.
According to Madam Siaway, RPAL has about 22 staff working directly with smallholders, supported with motorbikes and other logistics to enhance productivity. “We have established cooperatives across Liberia, and our technicians work closely with smallholder farmers to supervise and support them,” she said.
She emphasized that the rubber sector remains critical to Liberia’s economy, citing its contribution to foreign exchange earnings and employment. “More than 60,000 farmers depend on rubber as their main source of income,” she added.
The government’s moratorium earlier this year sparked tension within the sector, with the National Rubber Brokers and Farmers Union (NRBFU) calling on President Joseph N. Boakai to withdraw the decision. However, no representative of the NRBFU was present at the 2025 agriculture fair to exhibit raw or processed rubber products.
Firestone Liberia, one of the country’s largest rubber producers, exhibited a full spectrum of rubber production—from nursery development to processing and export. Critics, however, continue to urge the company to go further by showcasing finished products such as tires and other rubber-based household items.
Nimba Rubber Incorporated, formerly known as Cocopa, also participated in the fair alongside RPAL, exhibiting nursery stock and processed rubber products.
RPAL is now encouraging farmers to adopt improved rubber varieties to increase productivity and to invest in local processing before export, a move the association says will generate jobs and secure better market value for Liberian rubber.
