Rubber output likely to grow by 2.5 per cent
George Joseph Kochi The Rubber Board has projected 2.5 per cent growth in the production of natural rubber for the current year. The board's projection for the on-going financial year is 874,000 tonne. The total production had grown by 6.3 per cent to peak at 853,000 tonne in 2006-07 compared with 803,000 tonne in the previous financial year.
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The Rubber Board also estimates total domestic consumption of 853,000 tonne in FY08. During the previous financial year, consumption had grown by 2.4 per cent to 820,000 tonne, against an estimate of 5 per cent growth at 841,000 tonne. |
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The lower-than-expected growth in consumption is attributed to the slow-down in the non-tyre sector as a result of the higher price tags and a 2 per cent increase in the usage of synthetic rubber. |
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Imports registered an all-time high in the last financial year, growing by 45 per cent to 85,048 tonne compared with 45,285 tonne in 2005-06. Exports have fallen steeply to 55,309 tonne in 2006-07 compared with 73,830 tonne in the preceding financial year. |
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The sharp growth in imports and production had contributed to a stock-pile of 161,000 tonne in 2006-07, the third largest during the last four decades. In 2005-06, the total stock was merely 93,000 tonne. The high stock position is one of the reasons for lower price tags in the domestic market. |
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