Natural rubber production marginally up in Dec

India's natural rubber production has grown marginally in December 2010, to 1.01 lakh tonnes, according to the Rubber Board of India.   

"Production of natural rubber for the month of December 2010 increased by 0.6 per cent to 101,500 lakh tonnes compared to 100,850 tonnes during December 2009," the Board said in a statement.

The increase in production was due to favourable weather conditions during the month of December 2010, it added.

The cumulative production of natural rubber, mainly used for making automotive tyres, during the first nine months of current fiscal (April-December) grew by 2.4 per cent to 6.4 lakh tonnes as compared to 6.3 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period of the previous year.

The consumption of natural rubber in December last year declined by 1.3 per cent to 77,500 tonnes as compared to 78,500 tonnes in the similar period previous year.

The aggregate consumption of the commodity during the first nine months of the current fiscal grew to 7.06 lakh tonnes as compared to 6.9 lakh tonnes in the similar period, an year ago.

The natural rubber prices in the domestic market touched a record of Rs 207 per kg on the concerns about the disruption in production due to adverse weather conditions coupled with increasing demand from the automotive tyre makers.