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Natural rubber supply will be short of demand by 2020 despite the availability of a small surplus in the market for the next few years, Sheela Thomas, Secretary General, Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), has said.
“The price of natural rubber is not determined by demand and supply alone, but strongly influenced by the general trend in commodity market, crude oil prices and exchange rate of currencies of manor rubber exporting countries. Owing to this, the rubber prices need not always reflect the imbalance between demand and supply,” she said at the ANRPC annual meetings and the 9th edition of annual rubber conference in Guwahati.
Ajith Kumar, Chairman, Rubber Board, attributed the prolonged slump in demand and price of rubber to supply-demand imbalances emanating from production cycles typical to perennial crops, deceleration in industrial activities globally and relatively low petroleum prices.
He emphasised the need to adopt strategies to sustain the rubber sector by assigning due emphasis on its basic characteristics like predominance of small and marginal growers, extension of cultivation to non-traditional regions, concentration of consumption in transport sector, etc.
The Rubber Board Chairman also released a new rubber clone – RRII 208 – developed by Rubber Research Institute of India for cultivation in the North-East. This is the first time Rubber Board is releasing an Indian clone for exclusive cultivation in North Eastern part of the country.
Earlier inaugurating the global rubber body meet, KK Mittal, Additional Chief Secretary and Agricultural Production Commissioner, Assam, called upon policy makers, experts and stakeholders in ANRPC to target at a paradigm shift in formulating and implementing development strategies to sustain NR sector.
Expressing concern on climate change and its impact on crop production, he pointed out that research in rubber plantation sector should focus on the impact of climate change on rubber cultivation and strategies to combat the possible adverse impact.
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