KOCHI: Significance of natural rubber will continue for years and the rubber industry in India should take all steps to become globally competitive, said G Madhavan Nair, former ISRO chief and Chairman, Centre for Management Development. He was inaugurating the India Rubber Meet 2015 (IRM 2015) in Kochi on Wednesday.
He added that productivity enhancement, value addition and mechanisation are the means for achieving competitiveness.
“Satellite imaging has tremendous potential in identifying suitable areas for rubber cultivation. It can be used to assess the intensity of disease and help in crop prediction,” he said.
The vital strength of Indian rubber industry is the synergy obtained through the co-existence of a well established rubber production sector and fast growing rubber manufacturing sector, said Rubber Board Chairman A Jayathilak.
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The theme of IRM 2015 is ‘Finite resources: infinite opportunities’ which intends to cover the commercial opportunities of rubber including auxiliary activities. It is also proposed to examine the green agenda referring new sustainability goals.
Speaking at the meet, John Baffes, Senior Economist, Development Prospects Group, World Bank, said that Natural Rubber is likely to see improvement in price in 2015-16. He opined that the price may increase by 4.1 per cent. Based on a detailed analysis of the impact of reduction in oil prices on an array of commodities, he observed that its effect on natural rubber price is not very significant.
Frank Grothaus, Consultant, UNCTAD, Charu Kapoor, Principal, TATA Strategic Management, Sheela Thomas, Secretary-General, Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, Stephen V Evans, Secretary-General, International
Rubber Study Group, Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz S A Kadir, Secretary General, International Rubber Research and Development Board, Malaysia and Gunther Lottmann, Manager, Grupo Agroindustrial de Occidente, Guatemala, also spoke. The meet will conclude on Thursday.
– newindianexpress.com
