India’s natural rubber production has shown a steady growth, registering a 2.1 per cent increase in FY2023-24 at 8.57 lakh tonnes compared with 8.39 lakh tonnes (lt) a year ago.
The Rubber Board, in its 45th edition of ‘Indian Rubber Statistics’, revealed that consumption also witnessed a significant rise, increasing by 4.9 per cent to a record 14.16 lt during FY2023-24 from 13.5 lt in 2022-23.
Data vetted by panel
According to the Board, it has shared the key statistics on production among stakeholders up to August 2024. The production up to August 2024 is 2.83 lt — 0.7 per cent higher than the corresponding period a year ago. The projection of production for FY 2024-25 is 8.75 lt, which will be revisited at appropriate times, a press release said.
The Board reiterated that before publishing the NR statistics for a particular month, it will be vetted in the Monthly Internal Statistics Monitoring Committee (ISMC) meeting, which facilitates effective interactions with different departments of the Rubber Board, like, Rubber Production Dept, Research, Climate, Plant Pathology, etc.
Similarly, a quarterly review is regularly organised by conducting the Statistics Consultative Panel (SCP) meetings, which are comprised of representatives of stakeholders in the sector. The Board was of the view that the 0.7 per cent decrease observed in Thailand’s production from April to July of FY 2024-25 revealed that the dip may impact the rubber price in the coming days.
The prices reached a record high of ₹247 on August 9, 2024, and it started declining sharply. Prices are now are at ₹200, registering a steep decline of 19 per cent. Imports from April to September 2024-25 are at 3,10,413 tonnes compared with 2,54,488 tonnes during the corresponding period in 2023-24, an increase of about 22 per cent.
The Rubber Board said it is monitoring the market situation closely and giving suitable policy inputs to the Government to stabilise the natural rubber market in the near term.
