Anticipated budget move; Rubber support price may surge to Rs 200

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In today's budget presented by Finance Minister KN Balagopal, there's a possibility of increasing the rubber support price to Rs 200 per kg, up from the current Rs 170. This move addresses the persistent demand from rubber farmers and aligns with the approaching Lok Sabha elections. The budget might allocate more funds to the Rubber Price Stabilization Fund compared to the previous year.

Efforts to raise the support price to Rs 250, with requests to the central government, haven't yielded positive results. Christian church leaders and the ruling Kerala Congress are advocating for the increase to Rs 250. With approximately 9.5 lakh rubber farmers in the state, the tapped rubber area grew from 2,96,465 hectares in 2015-16 to 3,55,700 hectares in 2021-22. Production has also risen from 4,38,630 tonnes to 5,56,600 tonnes.

Despite increasing production in Kerala, the uncontrolled central government import of rubber is perceived as a setback for farmers. Imports surged from 4,58,374 tonnes in 2015-16 to 5,46,361 tonnes in 2021-22, with 40.5 percent imported duty-free under the ASEAN agreement. This intensifies the demand for a higher support price.