Amidst concerns over price fluctuations, natural rubber (NR) production in India recorded a growth of 9.4% to reach 7.12 lakh tonnes during last fiscal.
According to a report presented by K.N. Raghavan, Executive Director, Rubber Board, at the 180th meeting of the board on Wednesday, the production crossed seven lakh tonnes for the first time since 2014-15. The rise in production is attributed to several activities initiated by the agency at regional and field levels, with the active cooperation of rubber producers’ societies.
The overall tapped area increased by 40,000 ha during the period while the rain-guarded area was 2.50 lakh ha, up by around 40,000 ha. This was in addition to the 4,000 ha brought in through the plantation adoption programme of the board.
Consumption down
Meanwhile, the volume of consumption was down from 12,11,940 tonnes in 2018-19 to 11,34,120 tonnes in 2019-20. At the same time, the production-consumption gap also declined to around 4,22,000 tonnes from 5,61,000 tonnes the previous year.
The import volume marked a decline of 20% while exports increased from 4,551 tonnes in 2018-19 to 12,194 tonnes in 2019-20.
The report projects the production of NR for the current fiscal at 7,10,000 tonnes, taking into consideration the crop loss owing to COVID-19. The world production level, meanwhile, is expected to decline by 2.2% to become 13.43 million tonnes while the consumption too will be down by 4.6% to become 13.13 million tonnes, according to a study by the International Rubber Study Group.
In view of the distress-situation faced by small growers owing to COVID-19, the board has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry seeking minimum import price and restrictions on imports with minimum price mechanism in domestic market.
Sawar Dhanania, Chairman, Rubber Board, addressed the annual meeting, held via videoconferencing.
