Rubber export projection may be lowered this year

NEW DELHI: The country may have to trim its natural rubber export projection of 50,000 tonnes for 2009-10 as domestic prices have far exceeded global rates, even though the rubber board says fall in local prices during the coming peak harvest season may prop up outbound shipment.

Industry officials asserted that even if the overseas shipment of natural rubber rises towards November, it would be difficult to meet the target, as exports slumped to just 834 tonnes in the first quarter of this fiscal against 16,300 tonnes in the year-ago period.

���In all likelihood, the country will miss the present natural rubber export target of 50,000 tonnes, set earlier this year,��� an industry official said. Worse still, the export of the commodity touched a new low of just 16 tonnes in June, compared with 9,451 tonnes in the same month last year mainly due to the huge gap in domestic and global prices.

Prices of domestic natural rubber were ruling at Rs 9,825 a quintal on Thursday, compared with Rs 8,804 a quintal (for the RSS 3 variety) at Singapore Commodity Exchange.