KOCHI: A month after starting the procurement drive for natural rubber, there is hardly any improvement in prices. The prices have remained at Rs 148-149 per kg as the procurement has been sluggish.
The procurement agencies point out lack of funds as a major reason for the slow pace. The Kerala State Co-operative Rubber Marketing Federation (Rubbermark), one of the agencies that have been entrusted with the procurement, has procured 105 tonne till March 31.
A senior officer of Rubbermark said the federation is yet to obtain funds for the procurement. The agency has been carrying out procurement with its funds. The federation is hoping to get government funds soon to accelerate the procurement process.
As a bailout to rubber farmers, who have been hit by falling prices due to massive imports, the government had announced in March that it would procure rubber directly from farmers at Rs 2 higher than the market rate till the prices jump to Rs 171 a kg. Around 10,000 tonne is expected to buy to lift the rubber prices.
Earlier, the government’s efforts to raise the import duty could not arrest the flow of imports, which have been more than what is needed to bridge the gap between production and demand. The production has been low in 2013-14 because of vagaries of weather.
According to Tomin Thachankari, managing director of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation (Marketfed), another agency engaged in rubber procurement, the manufacturers buy at Rs 2 higher than the market rates. These rates are quoted as official Rubber Board rates.
The procurement agencies are supposed to buy Rs 2 above it. “This means that, in effect, we are buying at Rs 4 more than the actual prices,” says Thachankari. “We can sell the produce only after the prices reach the targeted level. Till then, we have to bear the godown expenses. Doing that with our own funds is a commercial risk.
Hence, we are seeking government funds,” he said. Marketfed has so far procured 50 tonne.
The rubber dealers feel that the government has betrayed farmers. “Those who stocked rubber believing the government’s promise had to sell it at the current price to meet the payment demands at the end of financial year,” said a dealer based in Kottayam.
Meanwhile, rubber imports have been continuing unabated as the international prices are below the domestic rates.
Source: India Time
