Recently, the price fluctuations of core raw materials for pet rubber toys such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber have intensified, bringing significant cost pressure to enterprises in the industry, forcing them to accelerate supply chain optimization and enhance their risk resistance capabilities. It is reported that the natural rubber required for the production of pet rubber toys in China has an external dependence of over 85%, mainly relying on imports. Its price is affected by various factors such as climate, geopolitics, and global supply and demand, and fluctuates frequently and significantly; The import dependence of high-end synthetic rubber such as SEBS and TPV is also high, and the cost transmission pressure is obvious due to the fluctuation of international commodity prices. To cope with the impact of fluctuations in raw material prices, companies in the industry have taken various measures to optimize their supply chains: on the one hand, they have signed long-term cooperation agreements with high-quality raw material suppliers at home and abroad, locked in raw material prices and production capacity, and reduced the risks brought by price fluctuations; On the other hand, increasing the application proportion of recycled rubber and composite environmentally friendly materials, 37% of enterprises have started to adopt low-cost environmentally friendly materials such as recycled rubber by 2024, while reducing costs and meeting environmental requirements. In addition, enterprises also reduce raw material losses, improve production efficiency, further alleviate cost pressures, and achieve sustainable development through intelligent production transformation and production process optimization.
Many standardized model enterprises have synchronized the layout of raw material stocking strategies, established safety stock buffer mechanisms, and moderately hoarded goods at low rubber prices to smooth out annual procurement costs. Some leading enterprises have even attempted to deepen cooperation in Southeast Asian rubber production areas, participate in planting and initial processing links, and compress the space for intermediate trade markup. At the same time, enterprises have also adjusted their product pricing system accordingly, with slight price adjustments for high-end durable and certified products, relying on product added value to digest the pressure of raw material price increases, and avoiding low-end products from falling into a vicious price war. Enterprises also collaborate with industry associations to concentrate on procurement, using the advantage of bulk bargaining to lower the purchase price. Upstream and downstream partners work together to establish a cost warning mechanism, track the international rubber market trend in real time, predict the rise and fall rhythm in advance, flexibly adjust production and procurement plans, and comprehensively enhance the comprehensive strength of enterprises to resist the cyclical fluctuations of bulk commodities.
