Chairman issues assurance over Rubber Board’s future

Kottayam, India - The Rubber Board “will continue its functions with the current status as such,” chairman Dr Sawar Dhanania said at the industry body’s ‘183rd meeting’ in Kottayam.

The assurance was in response to media reports regarding the possible closure of the Rubber Board, according to its statement issued 25 Jan.

The reports, according to Dhanania, were based only on a suggestion by the NITI Ayog, an Indian government think-tank focused on economic-development and related policy-making issues.

There are “no worries for the rubber growers,” said the chairman, adding that India’s ministry of commerce and industry “is well aware of the Rubber Board's functions and the need for its existence.”

He went on to highlight moves to counter the impact of falling rubber prices on farmers, including a government ban on scrap rubber imports and a Rubber Board proposal to raise import duties on compounded rubber.