KOCHI – Rising rubber prices have led to more expensive footwear for the common man. Prices of no-frill rubber slippers and flip flops have doubled in the past 18 months.
Higher prices and the use of substitute raw materials have led to a major slowdown in the growth of rubber footwear industry in the country. Many small companies have gone out of business while the big ones are looking for substitute raw materials.
The rubber footwear industry has registered a 50% decline in the last two or three years. “Three years ago, our footwear production was based entirely on one raw material – natural rubber,” says KT Thomas, director, Paragon Polymer Products.
Source: The Economic Times