Rubber takes root in new regions on record prices

KOCHI: Supply shortage and record prices have prodded planters to expand rubber acreage this year. Farmers in regions where rubber trees are not normally grown have taken up rubber farming in a big way, thanks to the unrelenting rally in prices.

A half of the new land brought under rubber this year is in states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and the North-Eastern states, Rubber Board officials said. The rest of the expansion is seen in the rubber belt of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

“It is difficult to find land in Kerala,” said Satish Abraham, president, Latex Manufacturers Association. He said rubber was now being cultivated as an inter crop in many new regions of the state.

Rubber Board former vice chairman Siby Monippally said rubber was replacing many other crops.

Experts said rubber replanting was progressing at a slower pace. “Replanting will slow down when prices are high,” said a Rubber Board official adding that even scrap rubber was getting nearly Rs 200 per kg.

More people are taking to rubber planting across the globe as shortages and a rising demand are pushing prices to record levels.

International prices stood at Rs 292.98 per kg on Monday. Local prices which stood at around Rs 139 per kg in January 2010 rose to Rs 240.50 per kg on February 19, 2011. The shortage is estimated at around 85,000 tonne last year and 1 lakh tonne this year.

Rubber Board estimates show the area under rubber has been expanding by around 6,000 hectares since the beginning of this decade. However, this increased to 22,700 hectare by 2007-08 and to 30,200 hectare in the subsequent year. The provisional figure for 2009-10 put the new plantation at 25,500 hectares. The extended rainy season this year has forced growers to cut back production.