The production of natural rubber in the country witnessed a decline of 12.71% to 5.63 lakh tonnes (LT) in the fiscal ended March 2016, compared to 6.45 LT in the 2014-15 fiscal, as per data compiled by Rubber board. The imports during the period rose by 2.71% to 4.54 LT compared to 4.42 LT during 2014-15 fiscal.
Last year in April, the government had hiked the import duty on natural rubber to 25% or Rs 30 per kg, whichever is lower, in order to protect the interest of domestic growers and curb imports.
India is the sixth largest rubber producer after Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Malaysia. Kerala alone accounts for 80% of the country’s rubber output, followed by Tripura.