At present only around 57 per cent of the demand from rubber- based industries is being met by domestic production. Kerala accounts for the highest production, natural rubber being cultivated over an area of 600,000 hectares. There is considerable rubber production in Tamil Nadu. Tripura in the Northeast comes a distant second with 85083 hectares under cultivation. The state produces around 75.000 tonnes annually. Almost 90 percent is transported to other states, as Tripura does not have any rubber-based industry as yet.

The NDA Government is pushing ahead with fresh plans to rev up rubber cultivation as an important component of the country’s Atmanirbhar scheme. Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Mr Piyush Goyal has been urging upon concerned state governments to assign priority to the expansion of rubber-based industries. Around Rs 1100 crore would be invested in Assam and the NE states over the next five years to achieve new production targets.

In Assam, according to state Minister for Commerce and Industries Mr Chandramohan Patowary, rubber is being cultivated currently on 60000 hectares, with an annual production figure of around 32.000 mts. Nearly 200,000 people are engaged in the work, which brings in Rs 430 crore as revenues. Following recent talks with the central Government, it has been decided to expand existing levels of cultivation majorly, with total area under cultivation to cover around 500.000 hectares during the next five years. With funds to be available regularly from the centre as promised, Assam government officials are confident that the target can be achieved.

A further point of pride for Assam is that in case it meets its targets, it will emerge as the top rubber producing state in the Northeast, overtaking Tripura by a long margin. Only Kerala would be ahead in terms of the total area under cultivation and the actual production of natural rubber. The state already leads in the production of high quality tea which remains a steady export earner.

To emerge as the second highest producer of natural rubber in the country despite its often unpredictable and turbulent politics, would be no mean feat for Assam. It would adequately substantiate the proud claim made by the people of Assam, who describe their native state as a major resource area for the entire country.

However, rubber cultivation is equally important for Tripura which until recently was plagued by a prolonged insurgency, in terms of its economic development. The small state earns around Rs 600 crore by way of revenues and nearly 150,000 families are engaged in the cultivation directly or indirectly. State-based officials plan to bring more areas under cultivation, taking advantage of the centre’s scheme. In the short term, there is a proposal to increase the total acreage under rubber plants to over 100,000 hectares as early as possible.

As for exports, according to sources, India imported 601,000 tonnes of natural rubber in 2018. 487,000 tonnes in 2019 and 457,000 tonnes in 2020. These imports came mostly from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam.

In terms of weather conditions and other factors, experts maintain that rubber cultivation should have occurred in a bigger way in Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh in the south, apart from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The attendant benefits of growing natural rubber are not negligible either — the soil gets a green cover and the area gets cleaner air. (IPA Service)