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Kerala will procure rubber to stabilise prices: CM

He made it clear in the Assembly today while responding to a question from the Opposition

George Joseph Kochi
Last Updated : Feb 04 2014 | 3:07 PM IST
Kerala Government will procure rubber from the growers in order to stabilise the prices in the open market. This was announced by the chief minister Oommen Chandy in the state assembly today. Replying to an urgent motion, moved by K Suresh Kurup, an opposition member, raising the issue of the continuous fall in  rubber prices, he said that the government had sought central financial assistance for the market intervention operations. The government has also requested the ministry of Commerce to procure rubber in order to stabilise the prices. The ministry is seriously considering this,  he added. Government will convene a high level meeting in order to discuss the various aspects of the  procurement operations. He said that the local rubber prices had a downward trend in line  with the global markets. Yet,  Kerala gets  higher price than the international markets, he added.
 
Meanwhile, Suresh Kurup alleged that  import through the duty free channel and import at lower duty had affected the local market very badly. The central government is rather passive towards  the urgent needs of the 1 million plus rubber growers in the country. The government is so serious to reduce  the loss of oil marketing companies, but not at all serious about the sharp and continuous fall in rubber prices and pathetic plight of the farmers,  he said. Rubber price today dropped to Rs 142/Kg from Rs 150, ten days back.  Import, which is one of the main sources of supply of rubber in the country currently,   shot up to 264,576 tones in April – December period,  as against 173,441 tones in the same period of last year, recording  a growth of 53  per cent. There is no point in raising the import duty lately  as already tyre industry had imported as per their requirement, he said.
 
Finance minister, K M Mani said that the government is much concerned about the  pathetic condition  in  the rubber growing areas of the state.  92 per cent of the rubber production is being carried out in Kerala. The government had set apart Rs 10  crore for the market intervention operations in the latest budget  and is ready to allocate more money for procurement. He said that   procurement operations would be carried out through the rubber producers co-operative societies.  An action plan will be chalked out for this and the Minister for Co-operation will co-ordinate the market intervention initiatives.    
 
Mani, a veteran leader of Kerala Congress, which has strong clout in the rubber growing areas, said that his party is ready to go for a  strike against the anti-farmer  attitude of the central government.

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First Published: Feb 04 2014 | 3:04 PM IST

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