United Planters Association of Southern India today asked the Centre to come with immediate 'live saving support' to rubber growers, who are facing unremunerative prices and even increasing cost of labour inputs and fertilisers and make them stay away from tapping.
While appreciating the efforts taken by the government in formulating National Rubber policy, Vijayan Rajes, President, UPASI in a statement said if immediate steps were not taken to curtail the unrestricted inflow of imports, the Natural Rubber plantations which support over a million growers and half a million workers directly was going to be in dire straits.
A large number of small and medium growers have already stopped tapping rubber and it is evident from the production figures which in September 2014 had dropped to 60,000 tonnes from 80,000 tonnes last year, Rajes said.
Price of largely traded RSS IV grade of NR was hovering around Rs 120 per kg whereas it was Rs 165 a kg during the corresponding period last year and Rs 243 in April, 2011, he said.
The steep drop in domestic price can directly be attributed to huge imports of 3.25 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 compared to 2.17 lakh tonnes in 2012-13.
"Where is the justification to import 3.25 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 when the production was 8.44 lakh tonnes and consumption was 9.81 lakh tonnes which leaves out a gap of only 1.31 lakh tonnes,?" he asked.
Moreover if one goes further deep into import statistics, major quantum are imported during peak production periods "with a clear intention" of suppressing prices, he said, adding that It was therefore necessary for a monitoring mechanism on imports. Government should cap the quantity before it causes damage to the domestic NR growing sector, he said.
Imports of NR during the fiscal is estimated to be around 4 lakh tonnes and if happens, it will devastate NR growers, he claimed.
This year 2.26 lakhs tonnes had already come in till September end compared to 1.81 lakh tonnes last year. Latest reports of large scale imports of 60 per cent Latex being brought into the country under LATEX ADHESIVE label at 8 per cent import duty, if true, is cause for further worries,he said.
Though there is no dearth of demand at present, demand augmentation will definitely be of great help to NR industry in the long run and the proposal for rubberisation of road is a welcome suggestion.
The need of the hour is to take immediate steps to stabilise prices at remunerative levels, Rajes said and hoped the Government would act fast before it causes irreparable damage to the domestic NR growing sector.
