Rubber consumption level is set to increase to 912,000 tonnes by the turn of the century. Of this, natural rubber will account for 702,000 tonnes and synthetic rubber 210,000 tonnes,
Sources point out that tyre production accounts for 55 per cent of the present rubber consumption. Indias natural rubber yield per hectare is also the highest in the world at around 1500 kg. Small farmers produce around 85 per cent of natural rubber in the country and large plantation accounts for the rest. Almost 90 per cent of this comes from Kerala. The country, however, remains way behind other nations in per capita rubber consumption which is at .75 kg against 10 to 11 kg in Europe and 12 to 13 kg in the US. India produces 550,000 tonnes of natural rubber pa while the production of synthetic rubber is between 70,000 and 80,000 tonnes a year. The market is growing at an annual rate of 79 per cent.
The country is likely to export $400 million worth of rubber products by the end of the current fiscal. At present tyres account for nearly 75 per cent of countrys exports which reach nearly 100 countries. Total consumption, that is natural, synthetic and reclaimed rubber, at present stands at 0 .85 million tonnes per annum. The International Conference on Rubbers, organised by the IIT (Kharagpur), will discuss a wide range of issues dealing with the rubber and related industries.
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The conference was inaugurated by M M Sharma, former director of University of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, yesterday. More than 650 delegates from all over India and 22 foreign countries will attend the 3-day conference. The function was presided by R P Goenka, chairman of board of governors, IIT, Kharagpur, and chairman emeritus, RPG Enterprises. The doyen of Indian rubber industry D Banerjee was felicited with a citation for his life long contribution in the field of rubber technology.
Raghupati Singhania, managing director, J K Tyres, was the guest of honour.