New Delhi, Oct 25 (PTI) All India Kisan Sabha on Friday alleged that a ‘tyre cartel’ is manipulating prices of natural rubber and causing grave problems to the rubber farmers.
The farmers’ body said the situation was particulary bad in Kerala.
“AIKS strongly condemns the blatant manipulation of natural rubber (NR) prices by the tyre cartel, which is severely affecting the livelihood of lakhs of rubber farmers, workers and small traders. The situation is very grave in the major rubber producing state, Kerala, where rubber farmers are fighting an existential crisis,” it said in a statement.
I said the situation was equally bad in Tripura, where rubber is an important source of income for the majority of the tribal farmers. “When the rubber farmers are getting indebted, the tyre monopolies are making huge profits.” According to it, the price of natural rubber, which touched Rs 247 per kg on August 9, is falling drastically.
“The Rubber Board price on October 24th is Rs 184/kg for RSS-4 grade in Kottayam market… However, there could be significant deviations (always towards downward direction) from the Kottayam price of the NR within Kerala and across the country,” it said.
For instance, the price at which natural rubber is traded in Agartala market (Tripura is the second largest producer of rubber) is always less than the Kottayam market, AIKS said.
The “traders price” in Kerala, locally known as “vyapari vila,” was Rs 177 per kg on Thursday.
“It is worth noting that farmers in other districts of Kerala, barring Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam, always fetch a price Rs 5 to Rs 10/kg less than the ‘vyapari vila’. This happens particularly when the price goes down,” it said.
The body alleged that a powerful lobby of automotive tyre manufacturers put pressure on the Ministry of Commerce to allow duty-free imports from major natural rubber producing countries to keep the tyre industry competitive in the international market.
“As a routine, the Union Government succumbs to it and allows large scale import,” it said, and demanded an immediate intervention of the Centre to regulate tyre industry’s “monopolistic practices and price manipulation.” “The tycoons running the tyre cartel should be punished. AIKS also demands implementation of a fair price mechanism for NR, ensuring remunerative prices for farmers,” it added. PTI AO VN VN
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