Natural rubber production up 20% in August; tyre companies' stock rises

The production of  rubber and natural rubber (NR) in the country has increased by 10% and 20%, respectively, in the months of July and August, as compared to the production in the last year during same period, the Rubber Board said.

Looking at the increasing trend, the Board said that the production of NR in this fiscal may touch the anticipated 6.54 lakh tonne. Rubber production has been on the rise since May this year.

In May and July this year, the output was higher by 3% and 6%, respectively, compared to the same months last year, the Board said.

In a statement, the Rubber Board said that the rubber output rose from 48,000 tonnes a year ago while the production of natural rubber jumped by nearly 8% from 2,27,000 tonnes during April-August period last year to 2,45,000 tonnes this year (April-August).

In the same period, the consumption of rubber increased by 5% to 87,500 tonnes from 82,725 tonnes last year while the consumption of natural rubber increased by nearly 6% from 4,09,660 tonnes to 4,33,090 tonnes, the Board added.

In the last few years, the production of NR had come under pressure due to untapped holdings, climate change and shortage of tappers. However, an intensive campaign run by the Rubber Board to overcome these hurdles and to increase production and productivity to sweep over the price crisis, there was a steady increase in production this year. 

The initiatives were taken by Board through the Rubber Producers’ Societies (RPSs) and Board Companies at regional office level and field office level.

Despite the rise in NR production, imports have also increased to 47,540 tonnes in April-August from 37,413 tonnes during same period last year.

"‘Tapper Bank’ scheme through RPSs to overcome the shortage of tappers has also started functioning. Board also proposes to conduct skill upgradation programmes for 27,000 tappers in the country, with the active cooperation of Rubber Skill Development Council", the Board added.

Following the release of the report, the shares of rubber companies surged on BSE. At 1355 hours, the shares of Apar Industries were trading at Rs 541 per piece, up 3.03%, or Rs 15.90.

At the same time, the shares of Indag Rubber were trading at Rs 176 per piece, up 3.01%, or Rs 5.15 and the shares of TVS Srichakra were trading up 10.25%.