New Delhi, Aug 13 (KNN) Dakshina Kannada MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel has urged the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman to consider banning import of natural rubber and address other issues of rubber growers.

A delegation of Karnataka State Rubber Cultivators Hitarakshana Vedike (KSRCHV) presented a copy of the memorandum to the minister here on Wednesday.

According to the memorandum, Rubber Board’s statistics reveals that there is a shortage of Rs 50,000 to 60,000 metric tons of natural rubber production in India as against the industrial requirement of the country. At the same time, the price of NR has crashed by one third compared with the price in 2012.

Noting that farmers in the state are facing a grave situation owing to steep price fall, the MP said the predominant reason for this is the huge volume of import of natural rubber in to the domestic market.

He also sough urgent financial aid to the rubber sector to the tune of Rs 900 crore from the Price Stabilisation Fund of the union government to the rubber sector, which he said is essential to rescue the rubber growing farmers not only in Karnataka but also Kerala.

KSRCHV urged union government to increase import duty to 40 percent of the price and to restrict import through one or two ports and implement strict quality check and make sure that rubber below the RSS 4 quality is not imported.

Nalin also urged the union government to instruct Rubber Board to procure at 1 lac TEU rubber at Rs 180 per kg as an immediate arrangement for saving the distressed rubber growers. (KNN Bureau)