Noting that the demand for natural rubber would reach 15,00,000 tonnes by 2025-26, Sawar Dhanania, Chairman, Rubber Board, has emphasised the need to increase the area under rubber cultivation to meet the domestic demand and restrict the outgo of foreign exchange through imports.
Delivering the presidential address at the 181st meeting of the Rubber Board here on Thursday, Mr.Dhanania said the board had identified a vast stretch of land in the north-east and West Bengal for rubber cultivation.
“NE-MITRA is a project conceived by the board to develop rubber plantations in those areas with financial support from consuming industries. Meantime, the efforts for extra income generating activities like beekeeping, intercropping, etc., should be continued’‘, he said.
Promoting the rubber wood industry and carbon trading, according to him, are required to bring sustainability to the rubber sector.
K.N. Raghavan, Executive Director, in a report presented on the current domestic status of natural rubber, stated that production of the material improved by 8.4%, to 7,75,000 tonnes, during 2021-22 compared to 7,15,000 tonnes in the previous year. An increase in yield, tappable area and area tapped during the year contributed to the rise in production.
The average yield, measured in terms of production per hectare of the tapped area, increased to 1,472 kg per hectare in 2021-22 from 1,442 kg in the previous year. In the demand side, the domestic consumption rose by 12.9%, to 12,38,000 tonnes in 2021-22 from 10,96,410 tonnes in the previous year.
The auto-tyre manufacturing sector accounted for 73.1% of the total quantity of natural rubber consumption. Import of the material, meanwhile, increased to 5,46,369 tonnes from 4,10,478 tonnes .
The auto tyre sector registered 15.9% growth during 2021-22, against 3.2% recorded in the previous fiscal. At the same time, the general rubber goods sector registered 5.6% growth during 2021-22 compared to a negative growth of 16.4% in the previous year.
The projection of natural rubber production and consumption for 2022-23 is 8,50,000 tonnes and 12,90,000 tonnes respectively.
Vinay Dinu Tendulkar, MP, Anil Kumar G and N Hari, et al, attended, besides representatives of the various rubber industry associations and officials of the Union government.
