THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government’s determined efforts have been instrumental in stabilising the price of rubber and achieving success in terms of rubber procurement, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here the other day.
“The result that we see in the market today is a joint effort by the government, cultivators, tyre companies and the Rubber Board,” Chandy said in a statement.
On Friday alone, tyre companies procured 2,400 tonnes of rubber resulting in prices touching Rs 130.45. The rubber cultivators are now getting prices higher than those prevailing in the international market. Nowhere in the world does rubber fetch such a high price, the Chief Minister said.
It was on December 18 that the government convened a meeting of tyre companies to find a solution to the crisis-hit rubber industry. At that time, the price of rubber was as low as Rs 115. The government’s decision to do away with sales tax had a direct impact in the procurement of rubber and thereby stabilising its price.
The Chief Minister claimed that as against an average quantity of 1000-1500 tonnes of rubber procured in a day, 2,400 tonnes of rubber were procured on Friday. However, the government did lose its share in terms of tax revenue, Chandy admitted.
Tyre companies import rubber by paying 20 per cent extra as import duty over and above the international price. But when the rubber is procured from within the state itself, the import duty gets passed on to the rubber cultivator as well as benefits the tyre company, the Chief Minister said.
Even though the government agencies had spent crores of rupees for rubber procurement, the expected results could not be achieved. The Centre on its part did not take any steps to resolve the crisis.
However, the State Government’s rubber package succeeded and this is evident in the high price of rubber in the market, Chandy said.
The government was able to convince the tyre companies that the crash in rubber prices will only harm their interests.
The tyre companies were told of the scenario where cultivators abandon rubber cultivation and go for other farming due to frequent fall in prices.“We expect the market to improve in the coming days,” the Chief Minister said and thanked the cultivators, tyre companies, dealers and all those who cooperated with the government’s rubber package.
– newindianexpress.com
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