Co-op banks' consortium for rubber procurement scheme

A consortium of various co-operative banks in Kerala will be formed to support the rubber procurement scheme announced by the state government to check price crash of the produce, hitting hundreds of local growers, most of them small and marginal holders.
This was decided by a meeting of various agencies involved in implementing the scheme announced last week based on which rubber would be procured from growers paying a consolation of Rs two per kg above the prevailing market rate, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said today.
Chandy said the market intervention scheme had started showing results as the open market price of rubber had increased by Rs seven within a week of its implementation.

The procurement scheme was drawn up in the backdrop of clamour for state intervention by farmers' association and all political parties in the state for arresting the steady slide in prices of natural rubber.
They alleged that the continuous fall in prices since last
year had been the result of indiscriminate import of rubber by the Centre under pressure from industry, especially tyre manufacturers.
Kerala accounts for 90 per cent of the country's rubber production and has been demanding increase in import duty to protect the interests of local growers.