MARKET LED EXTENSION :THE EXPERIENCE OF THE RUBBER BOARD

INTRODUCTION

• Natural rubber is obtained from Hevea brassiliensis• Commercial cultivation was started in 1902• From about 200 ha in 1902 ,total area under rubber

increased to 534228 ha in 2011-2012• Production that was 80 tonnes in 1910 increases to

about 798940 tonnes in 2011-2012• From a productivity of 284 kg in 1950 to 1784 kg in

2011• India is the fourth largest producer of natural rubber

and the third largest consumer

Source: Rubber board

Source: Rubber board

75%

8%

5%5%

3%1%2%

STATE WISE AREA UNDER RUBBER IN INDIA ,2010-’11

kerala TripuraKarnatakaAssam Tamil NaduMeghalayaothrs

IMPACT OF QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTION REMOVAL

• Liberalisation policies pursued by the govt.resulted in a market integration ,which led to closing the gap between international and domestic prices

• Rubber was under negative list of restricted items and import of rubber was permitted through the following routes

• Against issue of a public notice • Against advance licence • Against Special Import Licence• Under Bangkok Agreement

MARKET LEADS THE WAY

• Indian rubber has to compete in the international market consequent on the market integration

• Natural rubber is having higher bound rate when compared to agricultural products

• It means that the higher price prevalent in the market as in 1980’s and even in 1990’s cannot be expected to prevail in the country in the long run

• Globalisation will have an impact on the rubber products• Manufacturing industry will have to compete with

international market in terms of quality and price

• Entry to International market is only granted on the manufactures strictly being adhering to the ISO rules

• Indian production /processing sector will have to change according to the international market preferences in terms of rubber being processed and also packaging

• Speciality NR such as constant viscosity rubber ,oil extended NR and blends need to be produced with appropriate packaging

• Draw back of Ribbed Smoked Sheets dominate processing form of NR

• About 72% of the rubber produced in the country is in this form

• Internationally preferred rubber is Technically Specified Rubber

• At present its share account for about 60%• Slow pace of development of TSR produced in Inidia is that its

quality is not comparable with that of International quality• Entire latex is converted to RSS• TSR factories are operating at low capacity utilization • Linking grass root level organizations to the TSR processing

factories will help to establish the much needed raw material supply chain

ISSUES IN FOCUS

• Infrastructure has to be built under a group approach for rubber processing and marketing

• The grass root level development of small growers has been a priority of rubber boards extension machinery

• Cooperative marketing societies which started functioning in 1960’s has had an impact

• 1980’s the board facilitated the formation of Self Help Groups of small growers called the Rubber Producers Society

• These societies are equipped with modern equipments to facilitate quality production

• Measures to increase productivity have to be encouraged • Mechanism to address the moments of crisis of over supply or

lack of demand should be initiated• It is with the new market strategy that the board is initiating

the concept of agribusiness consortium by forming private companies

• The promotion of such agribusiness consortia are expected to earmark 20-30 % of trade in rubber so the Govt.can impart market stability in the long run.

IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDIAN RUBBER INDUSTRY

• India is a major producer and consumer of natural rubber. • The rubber products manufacturing industry in India had been

mostly inward oriented, catering to the domestic market. • In recent years India has entered the global market exporting

both raw natural rubber as well as rubber products. • With its large population base, India is emerging as a large

market for rubber products and with the opening up of the economy, import of rubber products has also been increasing in recent years.

• The rubber product mix in India is based mostly on dry forms of rubber, dictated by the requirements of the domestic market.

• The natural rubber / synthetic rubber consumption ratio in the country is presently 75:25.

• While the Indian tyre companies have been performing well, multinational tyre manufacturers are establishing production facilities in India.

• Manufacture of non-tyre products particularly high-value technical goods needs further investments

CONCLUSION

• Indian rubber industry is unique in the sense it is a major producer and consumer of natural rubber. Though rubber products manufacture started in the country in the year 1920, rapid growth in the last four decades has transformed the rubber products manufacturing industry one of the important sectors of the Indian economy. Considering the large population and the large manufacturing base particularly in the automobile industry and the availability of competitive labour, the country offers great opportunities for rubber product manufacture. With further investments in R&D and infrastructure, the country is poised to become a leader in rubber products manufacture in the years ahead.