Even as the Union and the State governments claim to have taken a series of steps to protect rubber farmers, the huge disparity in the declared market price of natural rubber and the price offered to rural farmers is causing concern.
The domestic rubber price now stands at Rs.137 for a kg of RSS-4 (ribbed smoked sheets), but rural farmers, who struggle to produce and process the latex using conventional methods, here get just Rs.118 or lower in the local market. In the case of RSS-5 grade, the price offered is just below Rs.95 for a kg, though the declared domestic rubber price stands at Rs.112.
“This is quite a depressing trend as farmers are now witnessing a steep fall in the production of latex owing to seasonal changes. Since January, the quantity has been on a steady decline. One will be able to survive only by getting a fair sum from the market,” says Johnson Kulathingal, a farmer and an office-bearer of the Kerala Karshaka Union.
Justin Mavara, a small-scale rubber farmer from Koodaranhi, says he has almost stopped tapping owing to the poor price he gets from the local traders.
“Here, we get only Rs.116 for the RSS-4 grade sheet when the government promises Rs.137 per kg. For grade-5, the price here is below Rs.100,” he says.
He says no scientific parameters are followed to determine the grade of rubber and it is left to the discretion of local traders. “We have to accept whatever grade they fix for the produce. They often decline to take it, expressing concern over the fluctuating prices in the national and international market,” he says.
George Thadathil, another farmer hailing from Koombara, says rubber farmers are not even able to think of hiring labourers for work as their wages are very high. “In Koombara, I was recently offered just Rs.115 a kg for RSS-4 grade rubber. I am planning to stop the tapping work till the next season,” he says.
– The Hindu
