Natural Rubber (NR) exports from India are likely to cross 5,000 tonnes in 2016 with the international rubber price staying higher than the domestic prices, state-run Rubber Board officials said on Friday.
India’s NR exports have been negligible since 2013-14 with the domestic prices always at a premium when compared to the international prices. “In 2016-17, during April to October period, India’s NR exports were hardly 650 tonnes.
Exports gained momentum in November-December 2016 and it is expected that India’s NR export may touch around 5,000 tonnes during this year,” Board sources added.
India is the world’s second-biggest consumer of the commodity and the world’s fifth-biggest rubber producer. India produced 655,000 tonnes of NR in the 2014-15 crop year. Higher imports of NR into the domestic market has led to a sharp decline in prices hurting more than 12 lakh growers involved in growing natural rubber. There was a decreasing trend in the production of NR for the last few years. Untapped holdings, climate change and shortage of tappers were the reason for this.
The price of natural rubber (NR) in India had been ruling high over international market prices since December 2013. The Indian sheet rubber prices were significantly higher during the last three years and a marked difference of R35 per kg was noticed between Indian RSS 4 grade and the comparable grade in Bangkok market during July 2016.
Source: financialexpress.com