The export of natural rubber (NR) increased by a whopping 65 per cent during April-August, 2008-09, at a total shipment of 26,704 tonnes, compared to 16,232 tonnes during the same period last year, revealed the Kottayam-based Rubber Board.
The board has estimated a total stock of 108,600 tonnes by the end of August against 82,607 tonnes in August 2007. This is in sharp contrast with the assessments of rubber-based industries and traders. They are arguing that the tradable stock of rubber would go below 80,000 tonnes, a critical situation in which an increase in price is inevitable.
| BOUNCING BACK Natural rubber estimates (in tonnes) | |||
| Year | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | % growth |
| Production | 2,44,070 | 3,12,565 | 28.1 |
| Consumption | 3,47,915 | 3,71,460 | 6.8 |
| Import | 35154 | 26508 | -24.5 |
| Export | 16232 | 26704 | 65.0 |
| Period for April-August | |||
But the board appears confident of a stock of 100,000-plus tonnes and believes there is no reason for concern. As the main production season of rubber is on the anvil, the stock will further increase by October, the board believes.
The growth in consumption of natural rubber has maintained the momentum at 6.8 per cent. The total consumption has been 371,460 tonnes against 347,915 tonnes in April-August period of 2008-09. During the first quarter of the current financial year, the export saw a growth of 26 per, which grew to 38 per cent for the five-month period ending August.
The rate of slowdown of the import of natural rubber strengthened further to 24.5 per cent at 26,508 tonnes against a decrease of 16 per cent during the April–July period. The import of natural rubber dropped by 8,646 tonnes from 35,154 tonnes in April-August period of 2007-08. A sharp fall in import was registered in August as the total import stood at 2,726 tonnes against 6,839 tonnes in the same month of the last year.
The slowdown is mainly due to the higher or at par price tags prevailing in the world market for the last 3-4 months.
Duty-bound import is not at all a viable route, but the industry is not keen on importing through the advance license route, thanks to the steep rise in the prices across the globe. The appreciation in prices and better climatic conditions have reflected in a sharp increase in production in April-August period.
The production recorded an increase of 28.1 per cent at 312,565 tonnes against a total production of 244,070 tonnes in April-August period of the previous financial year. The average price tag of RSS-4 grade had gone up to Rs 120 a kg during the five-month period which enthused the production.
The weakening of monsoon in Kerala also favoured an upward movement in the production. During the last monsoon season, the outbreak of deadly epidemics like chikun gunya had affected the production and a drop of 55,000 tonnes was registered in the production of natural rubber during April-August, compared to the production during the same period previous year.
