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)