The Indian Rubber Growers Association has sought immediate government intervention at a time when the rubber prices have plummeted to a record ₹95/kg.

Sibi Monippally, General Secretary of the Association, urged the Centre to provide additional ₹500 crore budgetary allocation for new plantation in North-Eastern States and re-plantation in traditional areas and explore the possibility of safeguard mechanism in rubber imports beyond the domestic requirement.

In a representation to the Union Commerce Minister, he pointed out that rubber imports have touched 4.3 lakh tonnes and it may go up further by the end of this fiscal. Therefore, new plantation and re-plantation has to be encouraged by increasing the subsidy at par with other countries. Growers should be encouraged to carry out replanting at this time of distress as well taking up new plantations, as there are about 12 lakh growers directly involved in rubber cultivation.

According to him, price is one of the significant factors which keep growers in cultivation. Therefore, maintaining a reasonable price through measures such as temporary ban on imports and hiking the import duty on manufactured rubber goods would help the farmers to a certain extent.

He emphasised the need for strengthening the research in rubber sector so as to adopt new agricultural practices to get better returns from the farms.

The Association also asked the government to implement the Parliamentary committee report on rubber, which recommended short- and long-term measures for the revival of the sector.

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