Rubber-based industries seek duty concessions

Rubber-based industries seek duty concessions

Staff Reporter
KOCHI: Rubber-based industries have demanded concessions, in view of the high price of natural rubber, before a government-appointed panel headed by the Rubber Board Chairman.

Rajiv Budhraja, director-general of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA), said in a press release here recently that the domestic price of natural rubber continued to rule high and imports were prohibitive considering the 20 per cent duty. ATMA, the All-India Rubber Industries' Association and the Indian Cycle and Rickshaw Tyre Manufacturers' Association have appealed before the panel that the Indian rubber industry should be on an equal footing with Chinese manufacturers, who were accessing cheaper natural rubber in the international market.

The domestic price of natural rubber (for block rubber) was higher than the international price by Rs.30-40 a kg. The Indian industry could not take advantage of the lower international price.

The ATMA official said China had lowered the import duty to 6.8 per cent. The high price of natural rubber in India had significantly reduced the cost competitiveness of the domestic industry. As a result, cheap Chinese tyres were set to invade the Indian market, particularly with the government lifting the curbs. The three associations had approached the Delhi High Court, which ordered the Ministry of Commerce to consider their plea, the release added.

(The Hindu)


Spot rubber prices unchanged
Our Correspondent

Kottayam, July 20

Spot rubber prices finished firm on Tuesday.

Domestic rubber prices, which hit record highs last week, are likely to move sideways this week on limited supplies due to rains, while a part of the demand would be met through imports, dealers said.

Sheet rubber closed unchanged at Rs 180 a kg and the volumes were comparatively low.

Rubber futures turned weak on NMCE . The August series slipped to Rs 174.20 (174.34), September to Rs 162.30 (163.41), October to Rs 158 (159.60) and November to Rs 158 (159) a kg for RSS 4.

RSS 3 declined with the July futures slipping to ¥344.4\Rs 187.88 (¥355.0); August to ¥293.9 (¥296.9); September to ¥283.3 (¥285.4); and October to ¥270.4 (¥270.5). The November futures firmed up marginally to ¥266.0 (265.3) and December to ¥ 264.5 (263.9) a kg during the day session on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. RSS 3 (spot) weakened to Rs 152.95 (153.73) a kg at Bangkok.

Spot rubber rates were (Rs/kg) 180 (180) for RSS-4; 175 (175) for RSS-5; 170 (171) for ungraded; 159 (159) for ISNR 20; and 125 (126) for Latex 60 per cent.




Rubber Climbs as Yen Drops, Stockpiles May Boost July Prices
Posted: 20 Jul 2010 01:42 AM PDT
By Aya Takada

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Rubber increased as a weaker Japanese currency raised the appeal of yen-based contracts and data showed stockpiles monitored by the Tokyo Commodity Exchange dropped to the lowest level in at least nine years.

Futures in Tokyo climbed for a second day and gained as much as 0.8 percent after declining last week by 3.3 percent. The yen retreated from a seven-month high against the dollar on speculation that the central bank may weaken the currency.

Natural-rubber stockpiles monitored by the Tokyo exchange dropped by 29 percent to 1,341 metric tons as of July 10, data from the bourse showed. It was the lowest volume since at least 2001, exchange spokesman Seiki Ichimura said. Data before that year were unavailable, he said.

“As domestic stockpiles are at a very low level, short- position holders may have to buy back the nearby contract,” Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at JSC Corp. in Tokyo, said today. Speculators with short, or sell, positions in the nearby contract must buy them back by the July 26 expiry date, unless they can deliver the raw material.

December-delivery rubber gained as much as 2.1 yen to 266 yen per kilogram ($3,059 a metric ton) before settling at 264.5 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. July-delivery rubber, which lost 3 percent today, surged by as much as 2.8 percent on July 16 amid speculation that the low stockpiles may make physical delivery difficult at the expiry.

“The market was supported by speculation that the nearby contract may surge before its expiry,” Shigemoto said today by phone. The July contract settled at 344.4 yen.

Gains Limited

Gains in futures were limited after U.S. home-builder confidence dropped more than forecast, renewing concern the economic recovery may falter.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index dropped to 14 this month, the lowest level since April 2009, from 16 in June, data from the Washington- based group showed yesterday. Builders in the U.S. turned more pessimistic in July than forecast, a sign the expiration of a government tax credit will depress home construction.

The yen fell against all of its 16 major counterparts amid speculation recent gains will spur Japanese authorities to weaken the currency.

The Bank of Japan may take steps to ease monetary policy should the yen stay at about 85 per dollar, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday, citing people familiar with deliberations at the central bank.

November-delivery rubber on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 1.7 percent to 21,720 yuan ($3,205) a ton at 2:45 p.m. local time.

(bloomberg.com)





Malaysia: No drastic rubber demand change
Posted: 20 Jul 2010 01:40 AM PDT
Malaysia can’t see any “drastic” change in rubber supply and demand at the moment, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Bernard Dompok told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

The Southeast Asia country is still expecting to produce 900,000 metric tons of the commodity this year, Dompok said.

It is also encouraging smallholders to replant, he said. Malaysia is aiming for 40,000 hectares of annual replanting, Dompok said.

(btimes.com.my)





Government To Review SMR Specification Scheme
Posted: 20 Jul 2010 01:38 AM PDT
KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- The government is looking to review the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) Specification Scheme to ensure that the over 40-year rubber grade remains relevant to current demands and is competitive.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said over the last four decades, the SMR Specification Scheme had transformed the country's natural rubber industry into a modern and technology-based sector, which produces technically specified rubber (TSR).

He said SMR is an internationally recognised brand name and the SMR standard is adopted by many other natural rubber producing countries.

However, the scenario had changed over the years and the country is now the third largest natural rubber producer while becoming less competitive as a producer in view of higher production costs, he said at the seminar on Standard Malaysian Rubber-New Dimensions here Tuesday.

"It is appropriate time for us to review our marketing strategy and seek to explore other ways of extracting value out of the goodwill and branding attached to the SMR that we produce. One particular aspect, may be for us, to review the SMR Specification Scheme," he said.

The SMR Specification Scheme was first launched in 1965. Since then, the scheme has undergone several revisions to accommodate technological advancements, changes to supplying materials and to satisfy consumer requirements.

The last revision was made in 1991.

Dompok is also confident that SMR producers in the country are in better position to re-strategise by shifting from processing standard block rubbers to other value-added rubbers such as specialty and new modified rubbers that are ready to be used by manufacturers of rubber products.

He also urged the midstream sector to be more efficient and competitive.

"This sector should no longer be associated with the perception of a dirty and low income industry. The rubber processors should utilise advanced processing tecnologies to achieve high productivity and cost effectiveness," he said.

Meanwhile, the seminar was organised by the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) to address the current issues and status of the SMR Specification Scheme, including issues of raw rubber supply and environmental concerns faced by the industry.

At the seminar, Dompok also launched an innovative machine, the RRIM Rapid DRC, developed by the MRB for dry rubber content (DRC) determination of cup lumps.

The machine is capable of determining DRC rapidly and accurately.

(bernama.com)





Rubber gives nomads an address - Tripura shifting cultivators settle for a permanent farming mode
Posted: 20 Jul 2010 01:36 AM PDT
Agartala, July 19: Latex is luring 30 nomadic families, which were spotted in different locations in three successive censuses, into settling down — with organised rubber plantations edging out the “bohemian” jhum cultivation.

Rankubai, the fabled village peopled exclusively by Reang shifting cultivators, is now a visible dot on Tripura’s hillscape in Gandacherra subdivision bordering Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

A primary school, two Mark-II wells, a tenuous road linking the new hamlet to Raisyabari market and occasional visits of rubber board officials are the first marks of development.

“It was with sustained persuasion and cajoling that we managed to win over the headman of the nomadic Rankubai village, Chitradhar Reang, 60, to make a new beginning. When they agreed, we allotted 45 hectares of land to 30 owners for rubber plantation. The Rubber Board came forward, providing them with earning for work on their own land since 2005. We have also been allotting work to them under various centrally sponsored schemes and in another two years the villagers will earn substantially from their rubber gardens,” said Shailaram Reang, joint director of primitive group programme department.

He recounted how resettlement projects for shifting cultivators — mostly Reangs — had failed earlier because within two or three years, the indigenous shifting cultivators would get tired of their new way of life and desert the resettlement areas after selling tin, timber and other household goods provided by the government.

“The entire way of life, ethos and values of the shifting cultivators revolve around jhum or shifting cultivation and without congenial conditions they tend to leave the settled way of life. Fortunately, rubber cultivation in hilly areas replicates their lifestyle in many ways,” said Reang.

Altogether 5,000 of Tripura’s 27,500 hardcore shifting cultivators have been resettled in newly created villages through rubber cultivation and the rest is also expected to be won over to the new way of life.

Apart from the resettlement scheme sponsored by the government and assisted by the rubber board, rubber cultivation is rapidly transforming Tripura’s socio-economic profile.

(telegraphindia.com)