Production of natural rubber has been constantly up in Karnataka for the past five years, according to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It is notwithstanding the fall in prices for natural rubber in the country. The price of natural rubber gradually declined from ₹242 a kg in 2011 to ₹140 a kg in 2023 (a drop by 42.15 % or ₹102 per a kg).
Replying to an unstarred question by V. Sivadasan in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, August 9, the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasad said that production of natural rubber in Karnataka went up from 41,550 tonnes in 2019-20 to 52,000 tonnes (provisional) during 2023-24.
According to the Minister, Karnataka produced 43,860 tonnes of natural rubber in 2020-21. It went up to 49,085 tonnes in 2021-22 and to 50,330 tonnes in 2022-23.
He said that as per the Rubber Board estimates, there are approximately 13.2 lakh rubber holdings in the country with a total area of 8,89,000 hectares. Rubber holdings are rubber growing areas, contiguous or non-contiguous, aggregating 10 hectares or less, in a taluk, under a single ownership. Holdings situated in different taluks even if they may be under a single ownership are considered separately. Data on rubber farmers or State-wise rubber holdings is not separately maintained by the Rubber Board.
The Union government through the Rubber Board is implementing the scheme ‘sustainable and inclusive development of natural rubber sector’ for the development of the natural rubber sector with an outlay of ₹999.86 crore from 2023-24 to 2025-26. The scheme aims to increase natural rubber production in the country by providing financial assistance for the expansion of area under rubber cultivation and for measures to enhance productivity. Measures such as the release of clones with higher yields, and assistance for the adoption of good agricultural practices such as spraying for disease control and rainguarding of trees, etc. are undertaken to help the farmers reduce the cost of production and increase productivity. Financial assistance is also provided for the purchase of rubber rollers and the setting up of smokehouses to support farmers in processing latex into good quality sheet rubber and correspondingly improve their price realisations. Training programmes are also conducted for farmers for the adoption of good agricultural practices, and scientific methods for harvesting rubber latex and processing into good quality marketable form of sheet rubber.
Natural rubber is currently not included in the mandated crops for fixing Minimum Support Price, he said.
Earlier, replying to an unstarred question by P. Sandosh Kumar in the Rajya Sabha on August 2, 2024, the Minister said that an increase in import duty on natural rubber is considered based on many factors such as local demand, price, production etc., balancing the interests of the farmers and the consumers in the country.
The government had increased the duty on the import of dry rubber to 25% or ₹30 per kg whichever is lower w.e.f. April 30, 2015, which is equal to WTO bound rate. Further, in the Union Budget 2023-24, the rate of custom duty on compound rubber was increased from 10% to 25%.
Rubber is prominently grown in Karnataka in the Coastal and Malnad districts.
