Bridgestone to spend $26.7 mln on Indonesia rubber plantations

BRIDGESTONE

10/08/2022 09:48

TOKYO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Japanese tyremaker Bridgestone
Corp  5108.T  said on Wednesday it will invest $26.7 million by
2030 to enhance productivity of natural rubber plantations it
owns in Indonesia to secure sustainable supplies of the raw
material.
    The company aims to double harvest volumes of natural rubber
in a given area in 2035 compared with projected 2022 volumes, it
said in a statement. 
    The fund will be used to introduce elite trees with 
stable harvest volume, which are selected by genome analysis
technology, and other advanced technologies such as artificial
intelligence image analysis to diagnose and detect disease in
Para rubber trees, it said.  
    Bridgestone has two plantations in Indonesia, a 17,900
hectare (ha) plantation in Sumatra and another 6,000 ha one in
Kalimantan.

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Jason Neely)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))