Opportunity knocks
Re: "Expert urges cutting reliance on US buyers", (Business, Sept 2) and "China begins push for Comac jets in Vietnam", (Business, Jan 22).
Thailand's export portfolio in 2024 is dominated by electronics, automotive parts and machinery.
A distant third export category is rubber and rubber goods, representing about 8% of exports. For a country often listed as the world's leading producer and exporter of natural rubber, one notable high‑value rubber product remains absent: aircraft tires.
For decades, as the Western bloc controlled both the commercial aviation market and the technology to support it, only a handful of companies were allowed to manufacture aircraft tires. The four firms operating within this oligopolistic market are Michelin (France), Bridgestone (Japan), Goodyear (USA), and Dunlop (England).
Now, another aircraft producer is rising in the East: the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac). China possesses a vast built‑in aviation market that is largely shielded from Western economic pressure. This development opens at least one major opportunity for Thailand: becoming an aircraft tire supplier to Comac.
Aircraft tires differ fundamentally from automotive tires. They must withstand extreme loads, rapid energy dissipation during high‑speed landings, intense braking temperatures, repeated impacts, and comply with rigorous aerospace safety standards over long service lives.
These demands require specialised compounds -- particularly a higher share of premium natural rubber -- along with reinforced constructions and aerospace‑grade testing systems that cannot be replicated by automotive tire production. Typical aircraft tire formulations contain 60–80% natural rubber, compared with 10–30% for passenger‑car tires.
Grand View Research says the global aircraft tire market is projected to reach US$2.68 billion by 2030. For Thailand -- whose economy already has deep expertise in rubber cultivation and tire manufacturing -- this is not a niche sector but a strategic industrial opportunity.
Over the next two decades, air travel is expected to increase sharply. The Asia–Pacific region, led by China and India, is projected to account for 46% of global demand for new aircraft.
Within that, China alone is forecast to require more than 8,800 new commercial aircraft to serve its growing economy and expanding domestic network.
To seize this opportunity, the Thai government should act swiftly to initiate discussions with the Chinese government.
Other Asean rubber‑producing nations may pursue the same idea, but but we are the closest historically friendly neighbor with plenty of rubber plantations.
