The world's largest producer and exporter of
natural rubber, plans to spend 15 billion baht ($472 million) in the market as
a price intervention measure to boost natural rubber prices to a floor price of
THB120 a kg. The price support proposal will be submitted to the cabinet for
approval on 24th January. The fund will come from the state owned
Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives, with natural-rubber stocks
used as the collateral.
The move comes after growers in south
Thailand launched a mass rally to protest over the government's alleged
mishandling of rubber issues and pressure the government to quickly resolve
falling natural rubber prices.
India is the first country to successfully
develop genetically modified (GM) rubber plant. The Rubber Board had developed
the plant with the hope of increasing productivity in the country. The Centre
has given clearance to the Rubber Board to cultivate GM rubber on a trial basis
in Kerala and Maharashtra.
The strong opposition of the Kerala
government to GM rubber plants is bound to hit the productivity of natural
rubber. The state government had said that it was against promoting GM crops
and refused to grant a no-objection certificate. This has come as a blow to the
board, which was all prepared to conduct the trials in Pathanamthitta in Kerala.
The decreasing area of cultivation and other
negative factors have slightly affected the output in the country. The
conventional method of planting takes about 7-8 years to give yield, were as the
GM rubber trees could be tapped in 5 years after their planting.
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