KOTTAYAM: On Manimalakkunnu, a tranquil hill just a few kilometers away from Ponkunnam town in Kanjirappally, efforts are afoot to clear the underbrush in a sprawling rubber plantation, making it ready for tapping.
Once cleared, the installation of a rain-guarding facility will commence, a technique to cover the tapping panel of the tree during the rainy season. After a decade-long hiatus, Sabeena Basheer, the owner of this 10-acre plantation, has decided to resume tapping, motivated by all-time high prices of natural rubber.
Such sights are becoming increasingly common in the plantation belts of Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts ever since the domestic prices started setting new records by the day. According to the daily Rubber Board statistics, the price of ribbed smoked sheet rubber grade 4 (RSS-4) stood at Rs 271 per kg as on Saturday, marking the highest price ever recorded in the Indian market. While experts attribute this surge to a combination of factors, the rubber plantation sector in Kerala is witnessing a resurgence after a decade of stagnation.
In rubber growing areas across the state, including in Malabar, over 90% of growers have either started tapping or are preparing to do so. However, a large section of growers said they are currently not benefiting from the price rise as they have either not rain-guarded their trees for tapping or have faced disruptions in tapping due to the heavy rain.
“Rain-guarding has been delayed in many plantations due to a scarcity of raw materials such as plastic and bitumen-based adhesives, an impact of the West Asia crisis. Almost all growers are planning to do so once the current spell of rain subsides,” said Shajimon Jose, president, Chirakkadavu Rubber Producers’ Society (RPS).
Reasons for surge in prices
Despite a huge demand-supply divide, domestic prices of natural rubber are heavily influenced by international market trends. The prices recorded a sharp increase across various international markets over the past few weeks, with the Bangkok market crossing the 300-mark for the first time, closing at Rs 304.62 per kg of RSS-3 on June 6, registering a growth of 58.78 % from January 2026.
The current surge in rubber prices is largely attributed to West Asia conflict. In energy markets, heightened Brent crude prices, driven by the geopolitical tensions, have increased production costs for synthetic rubber, prompting manufacturers to shift towards natural rubber.
Binoi Kurian, deputy director of the planning and marketing division in Rubber Board, cited other reasons including a widening production-consumption deficit globally. “The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) in its statistical report states that global natural rubber production is anticipated to increase by 2.2 % in 2026, reaching an estimated 15.32 million tonnes. However, on the consumption side, global demand is projected to rise by 1.4 % to around 15.60 million tonnes for the year,” he said.
Another factor driving the prices is the growing demand for higher quality materials to support the expansion of the electric vehicle (EV) market and exports of premium tyres.
Rubber Cultivation in Kerala in 2024-25
Kerala contributes 71.44% of the total rubber production in India
As per the average price of rubber in 2024-25, a total L12,064.81 crore reached farmers in Kerala
Total Cultivation
5,47,740 hectares
Tapped Area
3,94,138 hectares
Production
6,25,120 tonnes
Relief for state govt
Kerala government launched Rubber Production Incentive Scheme (RPIS) in 2015 to prop up the plantation sector with a subsidy when it recorded a huge fall in prices. As of January this year, rubber prices reached the Rs 200 mark, eliminating the need for government expenditure on this subsidy scheme for the current year.