INDIA – In a bid to boost prices of natural rubber, farmers are holding back their supplies , which has adversely caused rubber futures to dip and tyre makers scout overseas for their rubber requirements to avoid surging local prices.
The spot price of the most-traded RSS-4 rubber (ribbed, smoked sheet) in the Kottayam market in Kerala increased 50 rupees to 19,200 rupees per 100 kg.; Meanwhile, the recent key October rubber contract on India’s National Multi-Commodity Exchange provisionally ended 0.4 % higher at 19,105 rupees per 100 kg.
A dealer and former Cochin Rubber Merchants Association chief N. Radhakrishnan who decries the tight supply situation in India as farmers withhold their supplies from the market has also remained hopeful.
“The weather has become dry in Kerala and tapping is going on full-swing. This should raise supplies after a week or ten days,” he said.
The world’s fourth-biggest producer is expected to produce 942,000 tonnes of natural rubber this year from 899,400 tonnes in the previous year. (RJA)
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