A Road Map for Attaining Self-Reliance in Natural Rubber Production in India by 2030

Indian natural rubber (NR) plantation sector supports an industry that is vital to the nation’s industrial and economic growth. Sustained extension efforts supported by focused research and development by the Rubber Board in the past more than 60 years helped establish a robust NR production base in the country, characterized by a steady expansion in area under cultivation and increase in productivity and total production. This helped India achieve near self-sufficiency in NR production until 2010. The rubber products manufacturing industry and earnings from export of value added rubber products registered a robust growth over the years. As the Indian economy is expected to maintain its buoyancy in growth, it is estimated that by 2030 the country would require about 20 lakh tonnes of NR per year. Present production is in the range of 6 to 7 lakh tons per year, although there exists the potential to produce about 10 lakh tons a year. Between now and 2030, the country should double its domestic NR production potential to become self-reliant and avoid excessive dependence on import of this critical and strategic industrial raw material. This calls for a mission mode approach with sufficient public and private investments to expand NR cultivation to more areas, replant old and senile holdings and increase productivity of existing holdings for which a road map is presented.