Growers hit hard by falling rubber prices

The rate of increase of land under rubber cultivation has come down in the last three years

Rubber growers in Udupi district have been hit hard as the price of rubber has decreased and even the annual increase in the acreage under cultivation in the district has taken a dip.

About 8,500 hectares of land is under rubber cultivation in Udupi district. Nearly 5,000 hectares of it is in Kundapur taluk, while it is about 3,000 hectares in Karkala taluk and over 200 hectares in Udupi taluk.

Less land under rubber

According to the Regional Office of the Rubber Board of India in Kundapur, the rate of increase of land under rubber cultivation has come down in the last three years. It increased by 300 hectares in the district in 2012-13, but went up only by 165 hectares in 2013-14 and by just 50 hectares in 2014-15.

This is because the price of rubber, which was Rs. 245 per kg two years back, is now Rs. 114 per kg.

D. Narayana Swamy, Deputy Commissioner, Regional Office, Rubber Board, Kundapur, said the dip in the prices of crude oil and the value of the currencies of major rubber producing countries were the major contributing factors driving the price of rubber down.

When the rubber prices went down, the farmers shifted to other crops, which brought them more returns. The per capita consumption of rubber in India is 1.12 kg. “When the pace of development increases, the demand for rubber goes up,” Mr. Swamy said.

‘Huge loss’

But the fall in prices has left farmers high and dry. Bittaj Sunny, who has been growing rubber in 10 acres of land at Kuchur village near Hebri for the last 13 years, said that the annual rubber production in his plantation was 16 to 18 tonnes.

“This fall in prices has hit me hard. To break even I must earn Rs. 150 per kg of rubber, but the prevailing price is Rs. 114. It is a huge loss. Even banks are not willing to give loans to rubber growers now,” he said.

B.V. Poojary, who grows rubber in six acres of land in Perdoor village, said that he had taken up cultivation of rubber for the first time. “The fall in prices has shocked me. It is a big blow for me. I hope that the prices may rise in coming years. Farmers always bank on hopes,” he said.