Alarmed by rising prices of natural rubber, Kottayam-based Rubber Board on Wednesday cautioned farmers against holding back stocks.
?Hoarding would be damaging for the farmers? long-term interest,? Sajen Peter, chairman, Rubber Board said.
When the domestic price of rubber is staying much higher than the international price, this is detrimental to the interest of farmers, the statement said. The domestic spot price of natural rubber has reached a level of Rs 142 per kg which is about Rs 15 per kg more than the international prices.
Peter called attention towards fall in price of crude in the recent years. Natural rubber price is indirectly linked to crude market.
Meanwhile, the continued non-availability of natural rubber, despite the prices shooting to Rs 142 per kg, has put the production planning in disarray, the Automative Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) said.
In a letter to Ajay Shankar, secretary, department of industrial policy & promotion, under the ministry of commerce & industry, ATMA said that the current availability of natural rubber has become ?precarious?.
?Such a situation has not been witnessed in the past when availability, irrespective of the price levels or seasonal factors, was not such a major issue of concern,? said Raghupati Singhania, chairman, ATMA.
ATMA does not buy Rubber Board?s assertion that enough natural rubber stocks are available. The Board estimated close to 1.14 lakh million tonne in July-end.
?The ground-level availability is not indicative of stock projections,? Singhania said. The current high price levels have prompted ?interested parties to have entered into an oversold position with no matching supplies coming to the market,? he added.