The Indian Rubber Growers Association has urged the Commerce Ministry to desist from fixing standards for imported cup lumps, saying that it is anti-farmer and against the interest of rubber industry.

The move to fix standards and import of rubber cup lumps is unjustified since there is no standards with regard to its quality are available in the world, the association said in a memorandum to the Commerce Minister.

Cup lumps are oxidised rubber, mostly contaminated with dirt and other extraneous material, and their import has been prohibited as a phyto-sanitary measure by India.

According to Siby J Monippally, General Secretary of the association, it is not possible to fix standards for cup lumps since it is a natural material with variations, hetrogeneties and contaminates.

Unlike RSS-4 and ISNR grades, he said cup lumps are not clean and it contains pathogens, disease carrying organisms. The import of this material will affect not only rubber but other crops too. It is pertinent to note that rubber cultivation in Brazil was wiped off due to import of inferior quality raw material, he said.

The Association of Planters of Kerala also opposed the move saying that India is already importing 45 per cent of its rubber requirement by way of processed TSR made from these cup lumps abroad.

Meanwhile, the first meeting of the joint task force — set up to study the problems faced by rubber farmers in Kerala — decided to work on increasing the production incentive for farmers and curbing rubber imports.

There were also discussions to consider rubber as an agricultural crop rather than a commercial produce, paving the way for declaration of minimum support price and financial support under the income doubling scheme for farmers.

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