Natural rubber production in the country has gone past 800,000 tonnes in 2022-23, after a gap of 10 years, according to provisional figures available from the Rubber Board.
Production reached 839,000 tonnes, just short of the revised target of 840,000 tonnes set for the year, an increase of 8.3 percent over the output of 775,000 tonnes a year earlier. Production growth in 2021-22 was 7 percent.
Last time the production went over 800,000 tonnes was in 2012-13 when it touched 913,700 tonnes. After that year, the production oscillated between 600,000 and 800,000 tonnes with the exception of 2015-16 when it reached a low of 562,000 tonnes.
Consumption has grown 9 percent to 1.35 million tonnes for the year. Though the consumption growth has tapered down from 13 percent in 2021-22, it is still moving at a faster pace than production, especially after the Covid-19 threats waned.
On the face of it, the improved output seems to have reduced the dependence on imports during the year. Rubber imports, at the provisional figure of 530,000 tonnes, marked a 3 percent decline over 2021-22, when it stood at 546,369 tonnes.
Kerala, NE states
Rubber Board chairman Sawar Dhananiya attributed the jump in output to improved production in Kerala, the largest rubber-producing state in the country, and higher yield from northeastern states.
“In Kerala, the board has been able to resume tapping in several thousand hectares of untapped estates which helped in raising the production. In the northeastern region, the governments of Tripura and Assam have been showing great interest by providing the required infrastructure to increase output,’’ he said.
The northeastern states, particularly Tripura and Assam, account for over 16 percent of the total production, up from around 10 per cent a few years ago. The share of Kerala has come down from around 90 percent to 78 percent. The non-traditional regions of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra have a combined share of 6 percent in the total output.
Rubber traders are sceptical about the surge in yield from Kerala. “The current rise in production has come more from higher output in northeastern states than from Kerala. Low prices and high production costs have reduced tapping in Kerala. Many are active because of the price stabilisation scheme of the state government,’’ said N Radhakrishnan, a major rubber dealer in Kerala.
The Rubber Board, in association with major tyre companies, is implementing the NE Mitra scheme in northeastern states that contemplates fresh cultivation of rubber in 200,000 hectares in five years. Under the scheme that started in 2021, cultivation in over 3,800 hectares commenced last year.
Impact of climate change
Climatic changes too have affected the production in Kerala. “The defoliation of rubber trees in Central Kerala impacted the output. The production was better in the estates in north Kerala,’’ said Santhosh Kumar, vice president, of rubber, Harrisons Malayalam Ltd.
Higher production cost for rubber in Kerala was in the news recently when a Catholic church bishop said the Bharatiya Janata Party will get an MP from Kerala if it raises the price of rubber to Rs 300 per kg.
The price of sheet-grade rubber that is used in tyre making is Rs 154 per kg. The state government scheme of price stabilisation ensures the small growers a price of Rs 170 per kg by subsidising the difference.
The rubber community in the state concurs with the statement of the bishop that the current price levels are hardly sufficient for the grower as the costs have grown manifold. Kerala pays the highest wages for rubber farmers in the country.
Surging costs
“Apart from wages, the cost of fertiliser, rain guarding, making sheets have all gone up. If the grower is tapping two or more times a week, then the cost could be around Rs 250 per kg. If he taps just once a week, it can be brought down to around Rs 200 per kg,’’ said Radhakrishnan, adding that the cost of production is considerably lower in northeastern states.
The rubber growers are awaiting some sort of incentive from the Centre. “The Centre has helped the industry by raising the import duty of compound rubber from 10 to 25 percent, the same as that of natural rubber, in the budget. It is also considering increasing the rubber replantation subsidy from the current Rs 25,000 per hectare,’’ Dhananiya noted.
Natural rubber was being imported under the guise of compound rubber by many to circumvent the higher duty for the former.
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