Rubber farmers hit hard by high input costs

Fear of cost of production of rubber getting higher than purchase price

46-year-old Bobby Martin, a native of Pala, closed down his business and jumped into full-fledged rubber farming about two decades ago when the latex prices were skyrocketing. But with the input costs at current highs, the nine acre plantation that he inherited hardly serves his family.

And it isn't just the material prices that are rising. The shortage of labour and the resultant increase in wages have all conspired to stock a crisis.

“From acid to coconut shells, the costs have swelled across the board. The last couple of months were particularly severe when we began rain-guarding the trees ahead of the monsoons,” he said.

According to him, the price of tar bitumen, which was available at ₹1,000 last season, has increased by over over ₹400, while that of plastic surged to ₹180 from ₹120. The labour cost involved in rain- guarding too has risen by ₹5 per tree to become ₹20.

As the growers, especially those having small holdings, were struggling from unprecedented steepening of prices for all manner of inputs, the Rubber board chipped in with a subsidy scheme for rain-guarding as well as spraying materials. The scheme stipulated a subsidy on materials for rain-guarding and spraying to the tune of ₹2,000 and ₹3,000 respectively per acre, to be distributed through the Rubber Production Societies.

“While the materials for rain guarding made available through the RPS units cost ₹160 per tree, the price in the open market now stands well over ₹190. Considering that the scope of these subsidy schemes are limited to two hectares, expenses incurred in farming beyond this limit is huge’‘, explained Francis Kochumala, president of the Marangoli RPS in Kottayam.

If the price of rubber does not rise from the existing band of ₹165 to ₹180 per kilo, there are concerns about the cost of production outstripping the prices, he added.