Natural rubber output falls 3% in Jan, imports up 21%

Natural rubber production fell by 3.4 per cent during the last month to 56,000 tonnes, while imports rose by 21 per cent to 35,174 tonnes.
Production stood at 58,000 tonnes and imports at 29,141 tonnes in January, according to the Rubber Board data.
Natural rubber consumption declined to 82,000 tonnes in January 2016 from 83,850 tonnes in the same month last year.
In the first 10 months of the current financial year 2015-16, natural rubber production fell by nearly 13 per cent to 4,96,000 tonnes as against 5,68,000 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Consumption also fell by 3 per cent to 8,21,910 tonnes in the April-January period of this fiscal from 8,48,535 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Imports also declined to 3,65,805 tonnes in the first 10 months of this fiscal from 3,80,175 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Last month, the government allowed import through only two sea ports of Chennai and Nhava Sheva in order to curb inbound shipments.
"Import of natural rubber of all varieties/forms ... Is allowed only through sea ports of Chennai and Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port)," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) had said in a notification.
Domestic producers have been raising concerns over rising imports and fall in local prices.