Rubber imports to rise 42%

India is likely to witness a 42 per cent rise in natural rubber imports as against the earlier estimate of 70,000 tonnes made by the Rubber Board of India, on the back of lower import duties and sound growth of the automotive sector.

“In all likelihood, imports will be higher than 100,000 tonnes this financial year due to higher demand in the domestic market,” Sajen Peter, the chairman of the Rubber Board said on the sidelines of the Upasi annual general meeting here.

According to data with the Rubber Board, total imports during April-August exceeded its estimate and were around 77,577 tonnes.

The country produced 831,400 tonnes rubber in 2009-2010 and is estimated to produce 7.5 per cent more over last year to 893,000 tonnes in the 2010-11 period.

On domestic pricing, Peter said, “In the last two to three months, there were concerns related to pricing as domestic prices were higher than international prices. However, domestic prices are now at the same level as international prices. In the near term, pricing will remain at this level.”

He, however, said price fluctuation in the domestic futures market remained a concern.

“There have been demands for reducing the upper cap in commodity exchanges to two per cent to check price fluctuation and discourage speculation,” he added. The present upper circuit is four per cent.