Rubber production in India from April to December has declined largely thanks to loss in tapping days and heavy rainfall during the monsoon season.

According to the figures from Rubber Board, total production during April-December 2007 was 619,850 tonnes, a drop of 6.4 percent from 662,385 tonnes in the same period of the earlier year.

The shortfall in production between the two periods was narrowed as there was a production rise of 10.3 percent during April-November 2007.

At the beginning of FY08, the board had targeted a total production of 874,000 tonnes compared with 853,000 tonnes in FY07.

But by October, the board was forced to reassess the production and scaled down the target to 819,000 tonnes.

More than three months of the rubber tapping season had been lost thanks to the spread of deadly epidemics like chikungunya.

The board downscaled the estimate for the year by 4 percent since there had been 17 percent production loss during the April-September period.

The Rubber Board had projected 102,000 tonnes in November and 105,000 tonne in December, but the latest estimate reveals a production of 109,000 tonnes and 112,000 tonnes respectively.

Mr. Divya Aggarwal

Money Management Consultants Ltd

Senior Copy Editor, Money Management Consultants Ltd
New Delhi, India

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