KATHMANDU, April 11: India has engaged in the natural rubber trade since 1902 and ranks as the world’s sixth-largest rubber producer.
India stands as the largest producer of rubber in South Asia and exports rubber worth billions of rupees annually.
The Indian Rubber Board reports that India produces three types of rubber - natural, synthetic and reclaimed. The country uses natural rubber for manufacturing tires, gloves and other materials, producing more than 700,000 tons annually. In 2021/22, India’s rubber production reached 839,000 tons marking an increase of 8.39 percent from 2020/21 when the production stood at 775,000 tons of natural rubber.
According to the study, India consumes more rubber than it produces. The country consumed 1,238,000 tons of natural rubber in 2021/22, an increase from 1,096,410 tons consumed in 2020/21, and 1,350,000 tons in 2022/23.
Agreement signed for commercial rubber farming
India has been importing natural rubber from various countries to meet the market demand. India imported 528,677 tons of natural rubber in 2023 alone. Statistics show that 546,369 tons in 2022, 410,478 tons in 2021 and 457,223 tons of natural rubber were imported in 2020.
India has been increasing exports along with imports. In 2023, India exported 3,700 tons of natural rubber. Nepal also occupies a large share in the natural rubber exported by India. According to the study report, Nepal is among the top five countries importing natural rubber from India.
Sri Lanka is the largest importer of Indian rubber. Sri Lanka accounts for 20.69 percent of the natural rubber exported by India. After Sri Lanka, the share of rubber exported from India is 15.47 percent for Malaysia, 11.56 percent for Vietnam and 10.33 percent for Egypt. Nepal has 8.58 percent share in natural rubber exported from India.
Then there are Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, America, the UAE, Spain, Qatar, Iran, Thailand, Tanzania and other countries.
Similarly, India has also been exporting synthetic rubber. India exported 69,938 tons of synthetic rubber in the year 2022/23. In the year 2021/22, it exported 92,561 tons and in the year 2020/21, it exported 96,848 tons of synthetic rubber.
But India has been importing synthetic rubber to meet the market demand. According to statistics, India imported 529,720 tons in 2022/23; 519,117 tons in 2021/22; and 613,878 tons in 2020/21.
Similarly, Nepal is at the 12th place in importing synthetic rubber exported by India. Nepal imports 3.72 percent of the rubber exported by India. In the report, it was found that the maximum amount of synthetic rubber was exported from India to America. In the year 2022/23, India exported 69,000 tons to America, accounting for 11.23 percent.
Thailand is in second place. Thailand has a share of 10.8 percent in synthetic rubber exported by India. Then the share of China is 8.7 percent, Bangladesh 7.29 percent, Sri Lanka 7.7 percent, UAE 8.29 percent, Vietnam 6.13 percent, Indonesia 4.01 percent and Turkey 4.17 percent.
