Rubber production dips 32%

Heavy rain during July had affected natural rubber production very badly as monthly output dropped 32.4 per cent. In July, production was 46,000 tones as against 68,000 tones in last July, according to Rubber Board data. This is the sharpest fall in monthly production during last four years.

This also caused a fall of 18.6 per cent in the cumulative output during April - July period of the current financial year. April - July figure stood at 196,000 tones as against 240,700 tones in the same period of last financial year.

The sharp fall in production terribly upset the supply of the commodity, leading to heavy increase in the prices. This is against the global trend where prices were depreciating, almost on a daily basis. In India, even at higher prices rubber is a rare commodity as huge volumes are not available in the market.