Kerala assembly urges Centre to hike import duty on rubber

The Kerala assembly today passed a resolution urging the Centre to intervene and hike the import duty on rubber to ensure reasonable price for rubber growers in the state.
The resolution moved by State Agriculture Minister V S Sunilkumar asked the Centre to declare a new rubber policy and not withdraw the Rubber Act, 1947.
It also said the central government should hold discussions with the state government before entering into an international trade agreement on agriculture products.
The resolution further appealed the Centre not to shift the head office of the Rubber Board from Kottayam and not to close down the regional offices of rubber boards functioning in the state.

Kerala accounts for over 90 per cent of the total production of rubber in the country.