Natural rubber (NR) production moved up to 6.79 lakh tonnes between April and December 2011, from 6.51 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, a rise of less than five per cent.
Provisional figures released by the Rubber Board said that production in December 2011 was 1.04 lakh tonnes against 1.03 lakh tonnes in December 2010.
Cumulative NR consumption has moved up marginally during the nine months under review to 7.17 lakh tonnes from 7.08 lakh tonnes. Imports were 1.33 lakh tonnes against 1.66 lakh tonnes. Exports stand at 22,472 tonnes against 7,293 tonnes.
Stocks were 2.62 lakh tonnes at the end of December 2011 against 3.15 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
Natural rubber price continues to remain subdued so far this month in contrast to buoyancy in the first four months of 2011.
This year, prices for the RSS-4 variety ruled above Rs.200 a kg at the Kottayam terminal market. In April 2011, the average price went up to Rs.238.68 a kg, the highest for 2011.
Price has since come down, though for most part of 2011, NR price moved within Rs.200 as the year ended with the price of RSS-4 at an average of Rs.200.30 a kg. RSS-4 closed at Rs.189 a kg in Wednesday's trading.
