Natural rubber producing nations urged to address common issues

Subject : Economy

Section: Infrastructure

Context:

Sawar Dhanania, Chairman of the Rubber Board has called upon the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) to prioritize addressing such issues common for all and formulate appropriate policies.

Details:

Natural rubber is a versatile raw material used in about 40,000 products, with the automobile sector being the major consumer (70 percent) in the country.
Mechanization in the rubber plantation sector, promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, strengthening of the supply chain, value addition for rubber wood etc would ensure the sustainable existence of rubber farmers everywhere.

Annual Rubber Conference:

Held at: Guwahati, Assam
Alongside the meeting of ANRPC was also held.
ANRPC is an inter-governmental organisation established in 1970.
The membership is open to the governments of countries producing natural rubber. Currently, 13 countries are members, including India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Chairman of ANRPC: Zaroissani Mohd Nor (Director–General, Malaysian Rubber Board).
The mission of the association is to continuously improve the productivity of rubber holdings, reduce cost, increase value-addition in the downstream rubber sector, explore sources of ancillary income, capitalize on the eco-friendly credentials of natural rubber, and thereby improve the well-being of rubber farmers.
The meeting also discussed the scope of carbon crediting.

Common challenges:

Low rubber prices, increased labor costs, labor shortages, diseases, climate change, environmental problems etc are the common challenges that all NR-producing countries face.

Project ‘INROAD’ (Indian Natural Rubber Organisation for Assisted Development):

‘INROAD’ is the biggest rubber planting project to expand rubber in two lakh hectares of land in northeastern states with the cooperation and financial support of ATMA (Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association).
Launched by: Rubber Board of India in collaboration with the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA).
The project aims at providing free planting materials and other benefits to enhance rubber-growing areas in the region. It targets to expand rubber-growing areas across the northeastern states – where Arunachal Pradesh is the largest shareholder – by two lakh hectares within five years (2021-2025).
The regional office has set a target of distributing free rubber planting materials for over an area of 3,500 hectares for the current year.

Rubber Board of India:

The Rubber Board is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.
Head Office is in Kottayam, Kerala