INDIA-based firm, Cheerakuzhy Rubber Nursery, is setting up a 100-acre rubber plantation at Al Gahma in the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, which has moderate climate and farms.
Yasser Ghazi Maleh Al Shammari, a Saudi farmer, attempts at growing rubber in the desert kingdom after his succcessful attempts in cultivating mangoes, pineapples and assorted vegetables in his farm located in the south western Jizan province.
Jose Cheerakuzhy, Managing Director of the rubber nursery, said already 3,000 rubber saplings have been shipped to Saudi Arabia and 17,000 more would be dispatched after Eid.
Cheerakuzhy said peak summer temperature in Al Gahma is 42°C, similar to that of Palakkad, a district in India. He told Al Shammari that the success of the experiment would depend on the irrigation system at the plantation.
Al Shammari, who runs a tyre retreading business, was encouraged by an expat Malayali, Ansar Abdul Shukkoor, to take the plunge. “Weather here is comparable to Kerala. There is enough water to sustain agriculture. There are some a handful of rubber trees in the farm, which were introduced by someone from Indonesia. Initially, Al Shammari didn’t know that it was rubber, but the trees have shaped up well,” said Shukoor.
Dr J Thomas, rubber production commissioner, Rubber Board, said although Saudi is not an ideal place to grow rubber, there is scope for an experiment. “Rubber Board has tried out the crop in places like Guntur in Andhra Pradesh where temperature crosses 45 degrees in summer, Orissa and Goa but those are yet to be considered as fruitful ventures,” said Thomas.