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KOLKATA, March 12

TRIPURA is likely to emerge a prominent player in India's rubber map if a proposal by the State Government to set up a Rubber Industries Park there succeeds.

The State Government is actively considering a proposal to set up this park, the first such in the north-eastern region. The final decision will be subject to necessary approvals by the Government of India.

Mr S.M. Desalphine, Chairman, Rubber Board, told newspersons here today that the Board was willing to render all necessary support for this venture as a facilitating nodal agency for development of rubber in the country. Select areas have already been identified for rubber cultivation in the North-East, and once the plans come through, the country's rubber yield was expected to go up substantially from the current 1,576 kg per hectare annually, said to be the highest in the world today.

The Tamil Nadu Government is also considering setting up of a Rubber Park at Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, with private participation.

Commenting on productivity in the natural rubber sector, the Rubber Board Chairman said some five new clones have already been developed through in-house R&D efforts and handed over to the plantation sector in Kerala for commercial development on an experimental basis.

Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session of the `Marketing & Advertising' workshop, jointly organised by Capexil (ER) and All-India Rubber Industries Association (ER), he said currently India was the world's largest consumer of natural rubber, after China, US and Japan. Despite the domestic orientation of the manufacturing industry, catering mainly to the requirements of the domestic sector, India still enjoys a favourable trade balance in rubber products, he pointed out.

Citing the new challenges in the global market, especially with the emergence of China as a major competitor, he urged the Indian industry to equip itself through quality and cost as also by introducing market-oriented programmes.

Pointing out that rubber product imports into the country was to the tune of Rs 600 crore annually, Mr Desalphine said the need of the hour was both import substitution and also a major thrust on exports.

Welcoming the recent initiatives launched by AIRIA for development of rubber industry in West Bengal, especially for setting up a Rubber Park, Mr Malay Kumar De, Director of Industries, Government of West Bengal, said the State Government was willing to render all non-fund assistance to the Park project, particularly the land acquisition process. He said some three or four locations have already been identified. He, however, clarified that the funding of the entire project has to be done by AIRIA.

According to Mr S.K. Ray, Executive Director of Capexil, the main purpose of the workshop was to acquaint members of trade and industry with the practical aspects of marketing products abroad. The workshop focus, he said, was on export pricing with case studies by industry experts on marketing strategies, supply chain management and logistics, advertising etc. Marketing abroad requires special care and competitive pricing plays an important role for entry into different overseas markets, he pointed out.

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