Rubber growers oppose cut in import duty, ban on futures

Rubber growers oppose cut in import duty, ban on futures
Association submits memorandum to Commerce Ministry.

Kottayam, June 3

There was no rationale in the demand of the consuming industry to reduce import duty and ban futures trading in natural rubber, according to a memorandum submitted by the Indian Rubber Growers Association (IRGA) to the Minister of Commerce and Industries.

Export of tyres from India had shown a growth of 30 per cent this year.

Annual results of all tyre companies showed a growth of 25 per cent in their profits.

Rubber has a decisive role in Kerala's economy.

Rubber cultivation has picked up to a great extent in North Eastern States particularly Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya where it has transformed the lives of the people and terrorists have laid down their arms to start cultivation.

By the introduction of futures market an efficient, transparent parallel mechanism is in place to the advantage of all stakeholders. Market price and futures price invariably converge on the delivery date.

Natural rubber price in India is in conformity with the international price.

The Indian Rubber Growers Association, in its memorandum to the government, has appealed to the Government to maintain import of duty of natural rubber at 20 per cent, increase import duty of used tyres at 20 per cent increase the import duty of cycle tyres, create a welfare fund for rubber tappers and refrain from banning futures trading in natural rubber.





RUBBER-Tokyo futures end mixed but still supported
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 06:11 AM PDT
BANGKOK, June 4 - Tokyo rubber futures were mixed on Friday as the benchmark distant contract inched up on speculative buying, while nearby contracts fell on stop-loss selling, dealers said.

* The benchmark rubber contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange <0#JRU:> for November delivery edged up 0.4 yen to settle at 273.9 yen ($2.96) per kg. It rebounded from an intra-day low of 265.7 yen on speculative buying, supported by a prospect of strong demand on the fundamental side.

* "Technically, players bought back the benchmark sixth month contract after prices found a strong support level of 265 yen. Prices were still supported by strong demand," a Japanese dealer said.

* Other nearby contracts fell between 0.6 yen to 6.8 yen as players continued to sell contracts to stop loss because oil prices remained weak, dealers said.

* Oil slipped on Friday from its highest closing price in three weeks as investors remained sceptical that rising U.S. demand and falling stockpiles would prevail over concern Europe's debt crisis may deepen.

* Dealers said TOCOM prices were expected to rise further next week as technical sentiment improved after prices finished above a psychological support level of 265 yen, but the rises could be capped by profit-taking. ($1=92.53 Yen)

(news.alibaba.com)





Rubber Board announces grants for planters
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 06:09 AM PDT
KOTTAYAM (Commodity Online): India’s central body for rubber planters, the Rubber Board of India has invited applications from rubber growers for assistance for replanting and new planting under the Rubber Plantation Development Scheme.

In a notice issued on Thursday, June 3, 2010 the board had mentioned that applications in the prescribed form in duplicate together with two copies of correct survey plan of the land already planted/ proposed to be planted in the year 2010 should reach the respective Regional Offices of the Board on or before 31.12.2010. Application forms and other details are available from all Regional Offices and Field Offices of the Board at a cost of Rs.5/- per set.

The application forms in Malayalam and English can be downloaded from the Rubber Board’s website www.rubberboard.org.in also. While using downloaded application forms, an amount of Rs.5/- will have to be remitted at the Regional Offices along with the application. Growers, who send the filled up application in the downloaded form by post, should enclose a postal order for Rs.5/- also along with the application.

In the traditional rubber growing area, ie Kerala and Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, growers, whose total area under rubber does not exceed five hectares including the new planting / replanting during the current year, are eligible for planting grant for an area up to two hectares. The rate of assistance is Rs.19,500/- per hectare for replanting and new planting.

In non traditional rubber growing area (all places except Kerala and Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu), growers whose rubber area does not exceed 20 ha are eligible for assistance under the scheme. The rate of assistance in non-traditional area is Rs.30,000/- per hectare which includes planting subsidy, cost of polybag plants and transportation subsidy.

Applications received after 31.12.2010 will not be considered under any circumstances, the board notice stated. Therefore those who are desirous of availing themselves of the subsidy should submit their applications within the stipulated time.

(commodityonline.com)





India’s natural rubber output posts 2% rise in May
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 06:07 AM PDT
MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Natural rubber production in India increased by 2 per cent to 54,600 tonnes in May, compared to 53,550 tonnes in the same month last year, the Rubber Board said on Thursday. The rise in natural rubber (RSS-4 variety) production was attributed to increased tapping.

The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, which accounts for 94 per cent of global rubber production, said the output growth which was a meager 0.2 per cent in 2007, virtually stagnated in the following year before posting a decline of 3.6 per cent in 2009.

India’s rubber growers have asked the Commerce Ministry not to reduce the import duty on natural rubber, as demanded by tyre makers, saying that it would hurt farmers in the long run. IRGA has urged the Central government to enhance the import duty on used tyres to 20 per cent, at par with the import duty on natural rubber (NR). Currently the duty is 10 per cent.

French tyre major Michelin plan to hire about 200 people in India this year as it gears up to start production from its Chennai plant in the next two years. The company is investing Rs 40 billion over a period of seven years on setting up the plant in Tamil Nadu that will produce truck and bus radial tyres.

Malaysia plans to double its natural rubber production to 1.8 million tonnes in 2020, the Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities. Malaysia produced 846,900 tonnes of natural rubber in 2009 and expected production in 2010 to increase by 5.9% to 900,000 tonnes.

Thailand plan to boost its domestic consumption of natural rubber by 46% from the current 397,000 tonnes per year to 580,000 tonnes per year by 2013, the Director General of the Department of Agriculture said. After three years of stagnation and decline, global rubber production is poised to grow by six per cent this year.

(commodityonline.com)





Rubber Gains, Paring Weekly Loss, as U.S. May Have Added Jobs
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 06:01 AM PDT
By Aya Takada

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber advanced for a second day, paring a weekly decline, on speculation data will show today that U.S. employers added jobs in May for a fifth consecutive month, adding to evidence for an economic recovery.

Futures increased as much as 0.3 percent, erasing earlier losses. The price fell 3.8 percent this week, the biggest drop since the week ended May 7, on increased output from Thailand and concern that Chinese demand may weaken.

The U.S. economy added 536,000 jobs in May, the most in a month since 1983, the Labor Department will say today in its nonfarm payrolls report, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Expectations for an improvement in U.S. employment boosted the dollar against the Japanese currency, raising the appeal of yen-based contracts, said Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures Ltd. in Tokyo.

“The jobs report will probably strengthen the view that the U.S. economy is recovering,” supporting the dollar against the yen, Sugata said by phone today.

Rubber for November delivery, the most-active contract, added 0.2 percent to settle at 273.9 yen per kilogram ($2,954 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Earlier, the price dropped to 265.7 yen, the lowest level since May 24. Thai farmers have increased tapping after the low- production season ended, expanding global supply, Sugata said.

Cash prices of natural rubber in Thailand, the top exporter, may decline as production increases this month, the Thai Rubber Association said.

Output Rebound

Production may exceed 200,000 tons a month in June and July, as much as 30 percent more than the low-output period in April and May, the group’s President Luckchai Kittipol said this week. Output this year may be 3.2 million tons, matching 2009, he said.

Rubber futures were also capped by concern that demand in China, the largest consumer, will decline, Sugata said. China’s passenger-car sales growth slowed last month as falling stock prices eroded wealth.

China’s sales of cars, sport-utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles rose 25 percent in May from a year earlier, compared with growth of 34 percent in April, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center said June 1.

September-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 1.3 percent to 21,645 yuan ($3,170) a ton.

(bloomberg.com)





Rubber Set for First Drop in Three Weeks as Thai Output Gains
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 05:58 AM PDT
By Aya Takada

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber declined, set for the first weekly loss in three, on increased output from Thailand and concern that demand from China may weaken.

Futures in Tokyo dropped as much as 2.9 percent to the lowest level since May 24. The price has lost 5.6 percent this week, the worst performance since the week ended May 7.

Thai farmers have increased tapping of rubber trees after the low-production season ended, expanding global supply, said Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures Ltd. in Tokyo. China’s passenger-car sales growth slowed last month as falling stock prices eroded wealth.

“Investors were reluctant to buy rubber futures because of a seasonal increase in Thai supply and concern about Chinese demand,” Sugata said by phone today.

Rubber for November delivery, the most-active contract, fell as much as 7.8 yen to 265.7 yen per kilogram ($2,868 a metric ton) before trading at 268.7 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 11:16 a.m. local time.

Cash prices of natural rubber in Thailand, the world’s largest exporter of the commodity, may decline as production increases this month, the Thai Rubber Association said.

Output may exceed 200,000 tons a month in June and July, as much as 30 percent more than the low-output period in April and May, the group’s President Luckchai Kittipol said this week. Output this year may be 3.2 million tons, matching 2009, he said.

Thai Prices

The free-on-board price of Thai RSS-3 grade rubber for July delivery, which excludes freight and insurance, fell 1 percent to 112.65 baht ($3.46) a kilogram yesterday, according to the Rubber Institute of Thailand.

China’s sales of cars, sport-utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles rose 25 percent in May from a year earlier, compared with growth of 34 percent in April, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center said June 1.

A “diminishing wealth effect” from Chinese stock declines, along with high gasoline prices, may contribute to a slowdown in auto sales, Credit Suisse Group AG analysts Adrian Chan and Hung Bin Toh wrote in a report last week.

September-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 1.8 percent to 21,550 yuan ($3,156) a ton at 10:15 a.m. local time.

(bloomberg.com)





Thailand to Boost Domestic NR Consumption
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 05:55 AM PDT
By Anant Thawatchaipracha

Thailand plan to boost its domestic consumption of natural rubber by 46% from the current 397,000 tonnes per year to 580,000 tonnes per year by 2013, Mr. Somchai Charnnarongkul, the Director General of the Department of Agriculture said last week.

The annual export value of rubber products is then expected to rise to Baht 230 billion in that year from the current level of Baht 150 billion.

This is one of the eight strategies under the 2009-2013 master plan for the rubber industry of Thailand, approved by the Cabinet on 4 May, where the Ministry of Agriculture was tasked to promote research on natural rubber, improve output, increase the level of value added and stabilize prices

Under this strategy, the plan in the short term is to reduce the export of natural rubber and increase the raw material consumption domestically, to increase the level of value added. New markets for rubber products will also be sought.

The plan also targeted to increase the average plantation yield by about 10% in 2013, from the current level of 1,737 kilogrammes per hectare per year to 1,912 kilogrammes per hectare per year. This would allow the farmers to earn at least Baht 94,000 per hectare per year.

(Irco.biz)





Japan April NR Imports Up 33%
Posted: 04 Jun 2010 05:52 AM PDT
Japan imported 69,256 tonnes of natural rubber in April, up 6.7% from March and 33.0% from a year earlier, according to data released by the Rubber Trade Association of Japan.

Whilst no reason was provided for these changes, the Association referred to data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association that domestic sales of new cars, trucks and buses had been rising for the last 10 consecutive months, by 28% compared to a year earlier in May.

The Association also released data on Japan’s NR stocks which was down 11% from 4,963 tonnes on May 10 to 4,416 tonnes on May 20, while natural latex stocks was up to 162 tonnes from 112 tonnes and synthetic rubber stocks from 1,525 tonnes to1,607 tonnes.

Japan’s rubber stocks have been steadily declining. The highest level this year was recorded on 28 February at 8,222 tonnes whilst the record low of 3,902 tonnes was touched on 10 November 2009.

(Irco.biz)