By Socrates Smythe Saywon
MONROVIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s recent Executive Order #151, banning the export of raw or unprocessed rubber from Liberia, has ignited national conversations among civil society leaders, lawmakers, and economists about its potential to transform the country’s economy. The Executive Order, signed on Friday, August 1, aims to promote local processing and value addition within the rubber sector, which is one of Liberia’s most vital economic industries.
Anderson D. Miamen, Executive Director of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), welcomed the move in a detailed post on social media. He praised the Order as a significant step forward, but cautioned that real change would only come if the government backed the ban with meaningful investments.
“Liberia is among the top four rubber producers in Africa,” Miamen noted, referencing the Central Bank’s 2024 report, which recorded 75,471 metric tons of rubber produced in that year alone. “Yet beyond taxes, the country has little to show in terms of tangible benefits from the sector.”
Citing global market trends, Miamen pointed out that rubber prices increased by 40.4% in 2024 after a 13.8% decline in 2023, with projections indicating another 4.9% increase in 2025. “This is why Executive Order #151 is timely and commendable,” he added. “But merely banning raw exports isn’t enough. Liberia must now invest at least US$10 million in the 2026 national budget to subsidize rubber-related manufacturing, support cooperatives, and scale up domestic production of rubber-based goods such as tires, slippers, chairs, and medical devices.”
Nimba County Representative Taa Wongbe also weighed in, calling the Executive Order a potential game changer. “For over a century, Liberia has exported raw rubber, sending away jobs, profits, and industrial potential. This Order attempts to rewrite that story,” Wongbe wrote.
While acknowledging the shortcomings of previous executive orders issued by former Presidents Sirleaf and Weah, Wongbe said Boakai’s approach goes further by introducing a regulatory framework, taxes, permits, and compliance measures aimed at industrial transformation. “I may be in the opposition, but this is not about politics; it’s about progress,” he declared.
Wongbe also highlighted the potential risks. “Do we currently have enough local factories to process all this rubber? If not, smallholder farmers may suffer delays and income loss. The added taxes and fees could strain cooperatives already operating on thin margins.”
He called for strong safeguards, including flexible loans for farmers, monitoring mechanisms to prevent corruption, and the development of rural processing hubs. “Executive Order #151 is bold and necessary. But as always, the success will lie in the implementation,” he said.
Senator Nya D. Twayen of Nimba County took a more cautious stance, expressing concern over the lack of clarity in the Order’s language. He pledged to seek explanations from the Executive Mansion regarding what exactly constitutes “unprocessed rubber.”
“Some Liberians have been able to capitalize on international markets, offering better prices to small farmers and driving the per-ton price up from US$390 to US$600,” Twayen said. “We need to ensure that this Executive Order does not simply benefit big corporations while cutting out local brokers and farmers who have only recently begun to benefit from a more competitive market.”
He emphasized the need for the Order to also compel large rubber companies to establish manufacturing plants in Liberia, saying, “The rubber must not just be processed locally in name, but must fuel our industrial growth and job creation.”
