India’s natural rubber production exceeds 2016-17 target at 690,000 tonnes

rubber-1India’s natural rubber production for 2016-17 jumped to 690,000 tonnes, up 23% from a year earlier, exceeding the Rubber Board’s 654,000-tonne target.

Natural rubber output in 2015-16 was recorded as the lowest in two decades at 562,000 tonnes. The production increased 67% in the month of March 2017 to 55,000 tonnes from the same period last year.

The exports have also touched a four -year high of 20,012 tonnes. It was a meagre 865 tonnes in 2015-16.

The better performance has been attributed to higher prices in both the international and domestic markets in the second half of the year and the measures taken by the board to improve output and productivity.

The rubber consumption in the country has recorded a 5% increase to 1,041,475 tonnes for the year. After rising for the last few years due to lower international prices, imports showed a 7% decline at 426,172 tonnes during 2016-17. It touched an all-time-high of 458,374 tonnes in the previous year with the production in the country nosediving.