The prices had fallen sharply during the recession years. At one time it registered Rs. 55 per kilo. The time witnessed frantic selling of rubber plantations in the outer areas of Trivandrum. Syam Sunder G, one of the lucky buyers at that time, says: “At that time no one wanted rubber. And I could procure some more at cheap prices. I knew it would pick up.”
Now the boom in the automobile industry has boosted the rubber prices. The recent incessant rains make harvesting difficult and hence cause a shortage of sheets. Every rainy day means that tapping is not done to reduce chances of bark decay. The rains have been intermittent in recent weeks, at an unusual time of the year.
“Usually if you keep tapping, the amount of sap you get keeps increasing. If you stop for a few days and then tap, you find that the quantity is much lesser. It has to gradually grow back to the maximum. The rains are persistent and hence the yield is low,” says Syam Sunder.
The rain and cloudy skies in the outskirts of the city also affect the drying of rubber in the sun. Rubber if stockpiled without smoking or drying also gets fungal growth.
Chandrasekharan Nair, farmer and blogger (keralafarmer.blogspot.com), says: “International prices are higher than this. Yesterday it was Rs. 242. The farmers have nothing to fear as it will keep increasing for some time now. There are a few lobbies who want to get the price reduced. They are campaigning for increased export of rubber.”
He also accused the media of downplaying the rubber prices. According to him, some daily newspapers were showing prices that were at times more than Rs20 less than the real price. He alleged that this was a planned effort to loot the farmers and help corporates.
(Source: http://www.yentha.com/news/view/1/2277)
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