On April 5, 2011, rubber fetched `243 per kg, the highest-ever price. But, pushing 10.5 lakh rubber farmers in the state into an uncertain future the price has fallen to `94/kg (January 30, 2016). This is a fall of 61.32 per cent in just below five years.
The total revenue from rubber has now become a quarter of what it was five years ago. The impact of this massive revenue loss is visible across all sectors, ranging from real estate to jewellery and shopping. Kerala Government got `900 crore as sales tax in the 2011-12 period from rubber but it was a mere `200 crore in 2014-15.
Large rubber estates in the state, mainly in Kottayam, have stopped tapping. However, with the rubber subsidy scheme of the state government, which has fixed the rubber price at `150/kg, farmers in Malappuram, Palakkad and Kannur have started tapping aggressively,'' said Tomy Abraham, president, Indian Rubber Dealers Federation.
The rubber price fall has taken a political turn in the state as Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani MP started a hunger strike on January 18 in Kottayam demanding implementation of safeguard duty as per the 19th section of World Trade agreement for rubber. According to S C Nair, a rubber farmer and analyst, two lakh farmers have shifted to rubber in the state in the past decade and now their future has run into a wall.
A couple of years ago, around two tonnes of rubber was always in stock with traders in Kottayam. Now, they do not even have 50 kg. The inflated and incorrect figures reported by the Rubber Board were a major reason behind the present crisis, he added.
Cochin Rubber Merchants Association president G P Goyal says the outlook is very bad for rubber due to low demand in North India. The situation is not likely to change in the near future. In March, there may a slight increase of `5-10/kg due to off-season demand. But it is unlikely to sustain as global prices rules are low,'' he added.
Under the rubber subsidy scheme, Kerala Government has disbursed `65.39 crore to 2.87 lakh farmers till the second week of January.
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