The crisis triggered by plummeting rubber prices notwithstanding, production of natural rubber (NR) grew by 8.3% in India during the previous fiscal.
As per the statistics tabled at the 21st meeting of the Statistics Consultative Panel of the Rubber Board in Kottayam on Thursday, the NR consumption also registered a growth of 9% during the period.
The volume of rubber production increased to 8,39,000 tonnes from 7,75,000 tonnes in 2021-22 while consumption increased from 12,38,000 tonnes in 2021-22 to 13,50,000 tonnes.
The panel, comprising representatives of small-scale and large rubber growers, processors, tyre and non-tyre product manufacturers, and Rubber Producers’ Societies (RPSs), observed that India now ranked sixth in NR production, accounting for 5.8% of the global NR production during December 2022. The country also remained the second largest consumer of NR, accounting for 9.3% of global consumption .
The automobile tyre segment consumed 70.3% of the total NR consumed in the country and registered a 4.8% growth this fiscal compared to 2021-22. The general rubber products sector registered a rapid growth of 20.4% during 2022-23. During the fiscal, the passenger vehicle exports showed a 14.7% increase as well.
The Rubber Board attributed the rise in production volumes to several concentrated efforts such as distribution of rain guarding materials through the RPSs and the growers harvesting on more days in the rainy season. The Rubber Production Incentive Scheme (RPIC) implemented by the State government has also encouraged the farmers to continue tapping efficiently.
Control of leaf diseases, adoption of rubber holdings for harvesting and the formation of Rubber Tapper Groups (RTGs) are other factors that boosted domestic rubber production.
