Natural rubber export dips by 73 pc in October

New Delhi, Nov 6. (PTI): India's natural rubber exports in October declined by 73 per cent at 3,090 tonnes as compared to 11,371 tonnes in the year-ago period owing to fall in global prices of the commodity.

"Exports of natural rubber (NR) during October 2006 were only 3,090 tonnes, whereas export of NR during October 2005 was 11,371 tonnes," Rubber Board Joint Secretary (Statistics and Planning) G Mohana Chandran told PTI.
However, exports during April-October rose by 50 per cent at 49,097 tonnes against 32,810 tonnes in the corresponding period last year mainly due to better performance in the first half of the current fiscal.
The country exported 46,007 tonnes of natural rubber during April-September 2006 as against 21,438 tonnes in the year-ago period as there was a wide difference between domestic and international prices, he said.
The average price of natural rubber during August for RSS-4 grade in the Indian market was Rs 9,182 per quintal, while the average Bangkok price for RSS-3 grade was 10,303 per quintal.
But from September onwards, the global prices have started falling due to rise in supply in major producing countries. On November 3, the prices for RSS-4 at Kochi stood at Rs 8,950 per quintal, while price for RSS-3 grade at Bangkok was Rs 7,893 per quintal.
The natural rubber exports in 2006-07 fiscal is still expected to beat the projected 50,000 tonnes.
During April-October, the natural rubber import stood at 26,124 tonnes of natural rubber, down by 24 per cent from last year's 34,564 tonnes.
The Rubber Board has estimated an increase of 10 per cent in the natural rubber output at 4,64,660 tonnes in April-October 2006 compared to 4,22,090 tonnes due to favourable weather conditions during the first half of the year, Chandran said.
The provisional consumption growth during the first seven months of the year 2006-07 is 2.2 per cent.
The consumption during April-October is estimated at 4,73,900 tonnes compared to 4,63,845 tonnes last year.
The tyre consumption growth of natural rubber is expected to increase by 3.6 per cent.

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