Kottayam: The domestic natural rubber (NR) sector has shown positive growth in production and consumption compared to the previous year, which is a good sign of a resurgence of the Indian plantation sector. This was disclosed by Dr. Sawar Dhanania, Chairman of the Rubber Boar while presiding over the 185th meeting of the Rubber Board at Kottayam.
The efforts of the Rubber Board and the timely interference in disease control, adoption of rubber holdings for harvesting, formation of Rubber Tapper Groups (RTGs), etc., have resulted in the augmentation of NR production in the country. In the present scenario, Rubber Producers’ Societies (RPSs) need further improvement in their governance and activities to face the various challenges in the rubber plantation sector. RPSs should become self-sufficient in their activities. The concept of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in the RPS sector is a viable suggestion to experiment with in the coming days, he added.
M Vasanthagesan IRS, Executive Director of the Rubber Board, presented the status of the Indian NR sector. Natural Rubber (NR) production in the country during 2022-23 was 8,39,000 tonnes, registering 8.3% growth. He detailed that the average yield, measured in terms of production per hectare of tapped area, increased to 1,482 kg/ha in 2022-23 from 1,472 kg/ha in the previous year.
He added that the domestic NR consumption reached an ever-time peak in 2022-23 at 13,50,000 tonnes, up 9.0% from the quantity of 12,38,000 tonnes consumed during 2021-22. The auto tyre sector registered a positive growth of 4.8% during 2022-23. The general rubber goods sector recorded 20.4% growth during 2022-23 compared to 5.6% during 2021-22. Auto-tyre manufacturing sector accounted for 70.3% of NR consumed in the country during 2022-23. NR production and consumption for 2023-24 are projected at 8,75,000 tonnes and 14,00,000 tonnes respectively.
K A Unnikrishnan (Vice-Chairman), N Hari, Prasenjith Biswas IFS (Retd.), K Viswanathan, P Raveendran, C S Soman Pillai, Korah C George, G Anilkumar, Kallol Dey and G Krishnakumar were the members present in the Rubber Board meeting. The members re-elected K A Unnikrishnan as the Vice-Chairman of the Board for the next year.