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The country's rubber production increased 5.9 per cent to 59,700 tonnes in May against 56,400 tonnes during the same period a year ago. Production was higher mainly because of better climatic conditions and increase in tapped area, sources in the Rubber Board said. Though no quantifiable statistics are available, they said that growth in area under rain guarding would have also contributed to increased production.
More and more areas are expected to come under tapping in the years to come because of the seven-year period that it takes for rubber trees (once planted) to attain maturity. It is estimated that over 15,000 hectares of new rubber plantations would under come tapping next year against 14,000 hectares this year. The growth trend is expected to continue.
With the onset of intense monsoon rains, rubber production is expected to enter a lean phase and prices are expected to remain firm in the coming months. Indications are that there will not be any major spurt in consumption either. In May, consumption fell 81,000 tonnes, down 1.8 per cent compared with April.
The slow down in consumption indicates that rubber prices are unlikely to rise much in the coming days. Although there is a wide gap between production and demand, a slower growth in consumption and increase in tapped area will enable production to catch up, sources said.
There has been a firm increase in rubber stocks available in the country. They increased to 2,49,470 tonnes in May 2011 as against 1,87,750 tonnes during the year-ago period.
Domestic rubber prices have often been dictated by international price trends. Global prices have continued to rally on the back of decreased production from some major producing countries. But high market prices have not only brought more areas under tapping but also increased the intensity of tapping in several other countries.
Consequently, production from countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand is expected to increase this year. As a result, global rubber production is expected to grow 5.8 per cent to 10.9 million tonnes this year. Indian production is also expected to show an upward trend, with official estimates predicting 9.02 lakh tonnes for the current year.
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