KOCHI: Declining trend in the prices in the last couple of years has pushed natural rubber production in the country to the lowest level in nearly two decades at 563000 tonnes in 2015-16 as per the data released by the Rubber Board. The last time the production fell below this was in 1996-97, when it had touched 549425 tonnes.
Natural rubber production fell 12.7 per cent to 563,000 tonnes, while consumption eased 3.3 per cent to 987,540 tonnes in the year ended March 31.
The output was 645,000 tonnes in the previous year. It has dropped by 13 % in a year. However, the degree of fall is less, compared to 2014-15, when it fell by 17%. Except for one year of 2009-10, the rubber production in the country had been growing steadily. It had peaked to 913700 tonnes in 2012-13.
The rubber consumption too dipped by 3 % to 987,540 tonnes from the peak level of 1020910 tonnes a year ago. The consumption is showing a slide after a long time. In 2014-15, the rubber consumption had grown 4% though production fell.
The sharp drop in production in the face of just 3% dip in consumption has entailed more imports. Predictably, rubber imports have touched a new high of 454303 tonnes for the year 2015-16.
During fiscal 2016, the rubber prices had plummeted by as much as 27% from the beginning of the year before recovering. The prices plunged to the lowest in nine years at Rs 91 per kg in February before recovering. By the end of March, 2016, the prices had risen to Rs 115 per kg.
