Natural rubber output rises 7.8% in August

Natural rubber production rose 7.8 per cent in August to 55,000 tonnes, while imports fell 32 per cent to 33,292 tonnes, as compared to the year-ago period, according to Rubber Board data.

Natural rubber consumption grew to 87,500 tonnes during the month from 86,300 tonnes in the year-ago period.

"Production of NR (natural rubber) for the month of August 2015 increased by 7.8 per cent to 55,000 tonnes compared to 51,000 tonnes during August 2014," Rubber Board said in a statement.

Imports declined to 33,292 tonnes last month from 49,108 tonnes in August 2014.

During the April-August period of the fiscal, natural rubber production fell 11 per cent to 2.42 lakh tonnes from 2.72 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. Consumption declined by 1.7 per cent to 4,18,080 tonnes in the first five months of 2015-2016 from 4,25,285 tonnes in the year-ago period. Imports, too, fell from 1,92,966 tonnes to 1,78,756 tonnes during the period. However, exports grew to 194 tonnes during April-August period from 184 tonnes in the same period of previous year.