EVOLVING AN EXPORT
STRATEGY FOR INDIAN NATURAL RUBBER GROWERS
The government
have initiated a number of measures recently to protect the interest
of natural rubber (NR) growers of Kerala and other States. This
is to arrest the continuing decline in prices of NR in the domestic
as well as international markets since 1999, which showed no signs
of relief to the growers until March, 2002.
Apart
from fixing the minimum price for NR in August 2001, Government/Rubber
Board have introduced a number of steps to upgrade the quality
of rubber and standardising and packaging the same according to
international requirements. Simultaneously, efforts are also underway
to increase the volume of production of TSR (Technically Specified
Rubber) from its present level of 9% of the total production and
for this, a number of rubber processing societies have been assisted
to be in conformity with the international demand for this variety
of rubber.
Recognising
the fact that in the QR-free regime NR imports can be resorted
to by the user industry, it was also simultaneously decided by
the Government to make avenues for Indian rubber growers to gain
access in the international markets for their commodity. This
was not possible in the past since the rubber growers were traditionally
tied to supplying their raw material to the domestic user industry
only.
As
a matter of strategy, Government of India have entered into a
dialogue with M/s Goodyear of USA, in response to the interest
shown by this major global player. This company has worked out
a Scheme for training of Indian rubber processors into upgrading
the quality of Indian rubber and processing it into TSR, the most
preferred form of rubber as far as the international tyre manufacturers
are concerned.
The
government has deputed a 12-member delegation led by Shri K. S.
Gopalakrishnan, Director, Rubber Board to Indonesia, Thailand
and Singapore from 8th to 14th July, 2002,
for exposure and training in rubber plantations/ Model Technically
Specified Rubber (TSR) processing units in those countries, for
improving quality, consistency, packaging and regularity in supply
of TSR. The members of the delegation include representatives
from the cooperative sector, Rubber Board promoted companies and
private sector processing TSR.
In order
to make Indian NR competitive in other parts of the world, Government,
through Rubber Board, have introduced since December 2001, a series
of export incentive measures which have now gradually opened up
outlets for Indian NR in countries like Singapore, USA, Malaysia
and elsewhere.
In a
situation where the international prices are moving up and the
domestic prices are also moving in tandem, it is important that
the Indian rubber growers have the option to sell their raw material
to the user industry within the country or outside on the same
logic which now permits the Indian industry also to source its
raw material from anywhere in the world – paying the applied customs
tariff of 25%.
