KOCHI: Is Kerala, the latex capital, losing its status to the northeastern states? It seems there is some competition brewing between the two in terms of natural rubber production.
It’s well known that Kerala accounts for 80 per cent of the total rubber production in the country. What is not highlighted is the fact that Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in the country for 7.9 per cent (44,245 tonnes) of the total production as of 2015-16.
And, output has been increasing over the past few years. Kerala’s rubber production has been on the wane. The state had produced 6.48 lakh tonnes of rubber in 2013-14. This came down to 4.39 lakh tonnes in 2015-16.
Not just Kerala, all the South Indian states that have been traditional rubber growing areas have witnessed a dip in production in the past three years.
The reasons are ascribed to lower produce and increased production cost. The production in Karnataka was 35,230 tonnes in 2013-14. The state produced only 29,400 tonnes of rubber in 2015-16, while the production in Tamil Nadu also dropped from 25,000 tonnes to 19,495 tonnes during the same period.
“The drop in production in south India is mainly due to non-tapping as prices were low in the past. As price picked up in the past 18 months, growers will start tapping more. Besides, many rubber plantations have shifted to other cash, agri-crops during the past few years. With increased labour and material cost, the production of latex has now become an unviable exercise,” Srijit Sudhakar, a rubber grower in Kerala said.
In contrast, natural rubber production in Tripura shot up from 39,000 tonnes in 2013-14 to 44,245 tonnes in 2015-16. Similarly, Assam recorded a notable uptick in production during the period from 13,600 tonnes to 14,560 tonnes. The other major rubber producing states are Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
“The gap between production and consumption of rubber in the country has led to increased imports. The price of block rubber in international markets is lower than the sheet rubber in the domestic market. This has led to lower price realisation.
The cost of production of rubber varies from region to region and depends on a number of factors such as labour wages, value of land, input costs, etc,” commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha recently.
When contacted, a Rubber Board official said that efforts were made to popularise rubber cultivation in the north-eastern region and that it is paying rich dividends now.
“The fall in production can only be attributed to low price in the past. Now the price is at `140 per kg level and the country also witnessed increased rubber production. Hence, the south Indian production is likely to increase. But, the NE story in rubber is here to stay,” said Tomy Abraham, president, Indian Rubber Dealers’ Federation.