Taking serious note of the continuing slide in rubber prices, Rubber Board chairman Savar Dhanania has called for collective efforts to cope with the fall.
Addressing the 182nd meeting of the Rubber Board in Kottayam here recently, Mr. Dhanania noted that measures such as promotion of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), export of latex-based products, import restriction of compounded rubber, storage facilities and empowerment of rubber producers’ societies would help improve the domestic market.
Noting that the cost of replanting and maintaining plants during the immaturity period was a burden to farmers, he pointed to selling old trees in the senile plantation as a way to help farmers continue with rubber cultivation.
K.N. Raghavan, executive director, presented the report on the current domestic status of natural rubber (NR) for April to August 2022. As per this, NR production in the country is provisionally estimated as 2,63,000 tonnes, while that of consumption is 5,73,000 tonnes.
The auto tyre sector registered 5.4% growth during the period, while the general rubber goods sector registered 20.4% growth. Auto tyre-manufacturing sector accounted for 71% of the total NR consumption.
The total rubber area in the country during 2022-23 is around 8,52,000 ha. Import of NR increased to 2,27,518 tonnes from 194,535 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. As much as 89% of import was in the form of block rubber.
The export, meanwhile, was minimal at 1,357 tonnes, as against 2,320 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. The fall in exports was attributed to the prevailing production-consumption gap and higher prices for NR compared to international markets.
The meeting also elected K.A. Unnikrishnan, State general secretary of the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, as the vice chairman of the Rubber Board.
