KOCHI, JULY 11:
The All-India Rubber Industries Association has expressed concern over the sudden rise in rubber prices and tight supply.
This precarious situation has left operations of rubber SMEs in a disarray.
Quoting Rubber Board, the association said thatrubber prices jumped from Rs 179 on June 28 to Rs 192/kg currently— a 7 per cent or Rs 13 a kg rise. “In a challenging economic environment, a sudden rise in prices, the key raw material, has added to the cost push, eroding the already wafer-thin margins of rubber SMEs. There are no signs of pricing cooling down,” Niraj Thakkar, President, AIRIA, said.
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“What is more worrisome is that even at these high prices rubber is just not available. This kind of supply crunch when internationally rubber prices are falling, has not been witnessed for a long time. We understand from the trade that due to the daily escalating prices, growers are possibly holding the stocks, leading to non-availability and further increase in prices,” he said.
Currently, domestic prices are ruling 21 per cent higher than international prices. Against domestic prices of Rs 192/kg, international price (RSS 3) is Rs 159/kg.
INTERNATIONAL PRICES
Interestingly, international prices have come down from Rs 168/kg on June 28 to Rs 159. The industry has been able to procure only 40 per cent of the requirement in the last one month. While the Rubber Board had projected a production of 64,000 tonnes in June, interaction with dealers has revealed that approximately 30,000 tonnes of rubber has been produced and released in the market.
DUTY-FREE IMPORT
The rubber industry has also reiterated the need for duty-free import of natural rubber.
Source: Business Line
