C H A P T E R IV PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RUBBER. Manifold applications in products manufacture have made

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1 C H A P T E R IV PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF RUBBER 4.1 Introduction Manifold applications in products manufacture have made rubber an invaluable industrial raw material. Coming in thousands the products are used in every country. Production and consumption of rubber in the world, area, production and productivity of rubber in India, traditional rubber growing states in India and in Kanyakumari District are the major issues that are discussed in this chapter. The Framework of analysis Trend Analysis: Trend in area, production and productivity of rubber were estimated using the simple regression equation of the following form. y = a + bt..4.1 where, y = Area, production and productivity in year t a = Constant

2 113 b = Regression co-efficient t = Time in years. Growth Performance and Magnitude of Variability Nilakantha Rath in his study recommended that in biological production process like agriculture, compound growth rate was more appropriate for analyzing the growth rate over a period of time. 1 Considering his view, the compound growth rate with regard to area, production and productivity has been estimated on the basis of the semi-log or exponential function. log y = a + bt 4.2 where y = area, production and productivity t = time periods a and b are the parameters to be estimated. Compound growth rate = (Antilog b-1) x 100 To measure the magnitude of variability in the area, production and productivity, co-efficient of variation (c.v) was used. 2 C.V = S tan dard deviation Mean x Nilakantha Rath, A Note on Agricultural Production in India during , Study of Growth Rates in Series XIV, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, Bombay. 2 Latha Bastine, C., and K. Palanisamy, An Analysis of Growth Trends of Principal Crops in Kerala, Agricultural Situation in India, March 1994.

3 World Rubber Production World rubber production is marching a head despite challenges. With improved cultivation and processing methods it can retain its current position despite challenges from synthetic rubber and possibly from other sources also. Asia has a prominent share in the production of rubber. Almost all the developed countries depend upon Asia for rubber supply. A quarter century ago the global output was only 3.7 million tonnes. It progressed by 250 percentage during this period as rubber cultivation expanded to newer areas and emerged as a sustainable source of income of the farming community. Rubber planters in almost all the countries are small growers numbering above 2.5million around the world. Major rubber producers of the universe are in Asia especially in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. They contributed 6.91 million tones in 2008, around 70 percent of the world total. India, Vietnam, and China are the next three in the order. They chipped in with 2.10 million tonnes, percent of the world total. Production in other regions of Asia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Cambodia, and Bangladesh was quite low only about 0.28 million tonnes. 3 3 Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, 2009.

4 115 Africa is expected to continue to increase its production to nearly 0.5 million tonnes with an annual growth rate of 2.2 percent which is slightly higher than 1.8 percent in the previous decade. Latin America experienced more rapid expansion in production than the other regions. In the past decade it grew by 8 percent annually but growth is expected to decline in the next decade to around 5 percent annually. Brazil is the largest producing country in Latin America. Favourable agronomic conditions, abundant land resources and lower labour costs are the major factors driving the growth in production. However, given the very low production base of only 31,000 tonnes in , Brazil would still be a small producing country in global terms with an output of 0.12 million tonnes in Thus the growth and development of the world rubber industry has been quite impressive during the past four decades inspite of the massive production of synthetic rubber. Considering these and the social and economic significance of rubber cultivation in all the major producing countries, the rubber industry will continue to play a very important role in the global rubber scene during the current century also Rubber Production by Main Producing Countries Rubber is produced in 22 countries from an estimated planted area of thousand hectares. The geographical distribution of production in the main rubber producing countries are given in Table 4.1.

5 116 TABLE No. 4.1 RUBBER PRODUCTION BY THE MAIN PRODUCING COUNTRIES Year Thailand Indonesia Malaysia India China Vietnam Others Total Average Percentage Rank Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is observed from Table 4.1, that the production gradually increased to 9942 thousand tonnes in 2008 as compared to 5720 thousand tonnes in 1994, recording a growth rate of 74 percent in fourteen years. In terms of country-wise share in world production, Thailand maintained its undisputable supremacy at the rate of 32.1 percent followed by Indonesia

6 117 at the rate of 24.5 percent, Malaysia at the rate of 13.5 percent. India at the rate of 8.6 percent and Vietnam at the rate of 4.5 percent. It is also clear from the table that production in Thailand had come a long way consistently maintaining the top spot in production with 3020 thousand tonnes by the end of 2008 with an average production of thousand tonnes followed by Indonesia the second largest producer whose production gradually increased from 1361 thousand tonnes in 1994 to 2824 thousand tonnes in Production in Malaysia declined by 112 thousand tones in the year 1997 mainly owing to many growers deserting rubber for the production of palm oil, which gave better income. Other factors that led to fall in production were price fall and uneconomic return. India is the fourth largest producer producing 880 thousand tonnes of rubber by the end of But in 2007, the production declined by 42 thousand tonnes recording a negative growth rate of 3.2 percent as against the previous year Fall on production was mainly due to erratic weather condition. China and Vietnam also achieved a good growth and their average production is thousand tonnes and thousand tonnes per annum.

7 118 TABLE No. 4.2 GROWTH AND MAGNITUDE OF VARIABILITY OF RUBBER PRODUCTION BY THE MAIN PRODUCING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD FROM 1994 TO 2008 Particulars Thailand Indonesia Malaysia India China Vietnam Others Total Semi-log Constant Regression co-efficient (0.026) (0.003) (0.056) (0.006) (0.074) (0.008) (0.019) (0.002) (0.031) (0.003) (0.033) (0.004) (0.132) (0.014) (0.338) (0.037) R CGR (Percent / Annum) CV (Percent) Source: Complied from Table 4.1. It is elucidated from Table 4.2 that the trend in rubber production in almost all the main rubber producing countries in the world was positive and statistically significant at five percent level except in Malaysia. It implied that rubber production in the countries increased significantly during the study period. It would be observed from the table that world rubber production increased significantly by percent per annum during the

8 119 period under review. Among the main rubber producing countries in the world, Vietnam occupied the highest growth rate with percent per annum. Because of the effective steps taken not only by the government but also the Rubber Research Institute of Vietnam. Two research centres also had given research and development support to the planters. Indonesia also increased its production with percent and Thailand with percent per annum. It could also be inferred that rubber production in India increased by percent per annum, China with 7.65 percent and Malaysia with 2.56 percent per annum during the period under study. It is also seen from the table that rubber production in the world during the period under study experienced a considerable variation of percent. Vietnam experienced the highest variation of percent followed by Indonesia with 26.9 percent and Thailand with percent. It is also seen that India recorded percent fluctuation in the production of rubber, China with percent, Malaysia with percent variation in the production of rubber. 4.3 Global Consumption of Rubber Consumption of rubber is reckoned as a barometer of the progress of a country. World consumption of rubber was 9.98 million tonnes in 2008, as shade behind the production in which the share of Asian region was about 62 percent at 5.81 million tonnes. A sizeable portion of the production was shared with countries in other continents. Decades ago

9 120 the Asian consumption was much lower. Now the first, third and fourth global rubber consumers are in Asia, China, Japan and India. The second placed USA s rubber consumption at 1.1 million tonne in 2008 was only nearly half of China s off take of 2.6 million tonnes. Industrial development and growth in demand resulting from the fast development of automobile industry has helped Asia move ahead in rubber consumption. A quarter century ago in 1981 the Asian consumption was only 1.25 million tonnes, percent of the global intake. Ten years later in 1991 Asia moved fast and the share of natural rubber in products manufacture rose to 2.51 million tonnes while the rest of the world could utilize only 2.47 million tonnes. Since the rubber use in Asia has successfully gone up to 62 percentage consumption in other continents also moved up over the years, but the acceleration in Asia was faster. The seven year gap between planting and initial crop harvesting in rubber limited the possibility of any dramatic increase in supply and the bleak prospects of semi-tropical or temperate vegetative sources such as guayule, forced all major consumers to seek solution through development of synthetic substitutes. Hence large consumers of rubber in the US, Germany, Russia and UK invested heavily in the development of synthetic rubber and massive expansion of synthetic rubber capacities.

10 121 Inspite of this, rubber consumption recorded significant growth of 9550 thousand tonnes in TABLE No. 4.3 CONSUMPTION OF RUBBER BY THE MAIN CONSUMING COUNTRIES (IN THOUSAND TONES) Year China USA Japan India Malaysia Rep. Korea 290 France Germany Others Total Average % Rank Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, Table 4.3 shows that the global consumption had grown from 5650 thousand tonnes in 1994 to 9550 thousand tonnes in China

11 122 maintained its position as the largest consumer accounting for 19.1 percent of the total global consumption followed by the U.S.A. with 14.1 percent, Japan with 10.1 percent, India with 8.8 percent and Malaysia with 4.9 percent. The Republic of Korea, France and Germany also have consumed 4.3 percent, 3 percent and 3.1 percent of the total consumption respectively. The table also reveals that there was a significant increase in consumption by China and the USA. It has increased to 2435 thousand tonnes and 1041 thousand tonnes in the year 2008 as against 720 thousand tonnes and 1002 thousand tonnes in 1994 and their average consumption was 1452 and 1070 thousand tones respectively. It is also observed from the table that the consumption improved much during the year 2002 by 4.4 percent as against the previous year 2001, with the consumption rising in line with an economic recovery in the world rubber industry following its recession in In the year 2008, there was only marginal increase in the world consumption due to the world economic crisis and the decline in consumption by automobile industries.

12 123 TABLE No. 4.4 GROWTH RATE AND MAGNITUDE OF VARIABILITY OF CONSUMPTION OF RUBBER BY THE MAIN CONSUMING COUNTRIES FROM 1994 TO 2008 Semi-log Particulars Regression Constant co-efficient China (0.058) (0.006) USA (0.037) (0.004) Japan (0.016) (0.002) India (0.012) (0.001) Malaysia (0.033) (0.004) Rep.Korea (0.021) (0.002) France (0.078) (0.009) Germany (0.051) (0.003) others (0.015) (0.002) World Total (0.014) (0.001) Source: Complied from Table 4.3. R CGR (Percent / Annum) CV (Percent) Table 4.4 reveals that the trend co-efficient of consumption of China, Japan, India, Malaysia, The Republic of Korea, France and Germany were positive and significant at 5 percent level except the U.S.A where though the co-efficient of variation was positive it was not significant.

13 124 China maintained its position as the largest consumer during the study period because of the booming car sales and the spinning, demand for tyres and its growth rate was the highest with percent followed by France with 4.23 percent, India with 9.9 percent, Germany with 4.47 percent, Malaysia with 6.17 percent, Japan with 4.95 percent, The Rep. of Korea 4.47 percent and the U.S.A. with a marginal growth rate of only 0.46 percent per annum. It is also seen from the table that the co-efficient of variation was high in China with percent followed by France with percent and India with percent. 4.4 Rubber Production in India The growth attained by the Indian rubber plantation industry since its commercial beginning has no parallel in the agricultural scenario of the world. Boom in rubber price and success stories of the European planters, the local farmers began growing rubber and by 1920 India became a strong rubber producing country. Local availability naturally encouraged product manufacturing activities in 1920s. Since then the industry had a gradual development with its share ups and downs. The growth was such that India eventually became the fourth largest in the production and the first in productivity among the major rubber producing countries. The cumulative efforts of the research programmes of Rubber Research Institute of India, the highly responsible

14 125 farmer community and a well co-ordinated extension service of the Rubber Board contributed in achieving the present enviable position in production and productivity. Rubber production in India, from to and its increase or decrease percentage and trend value are given in Table 4.5. Year TABLE No. 4.5 RUBBER PRODUCTION IN INDIA Production (in tones) FROM TO Increase / Decrease Percentage Increase / Decrease Trend value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It could be inferred from Table 4.5 that the production during the study period increased gradually from tonnes to tonnes. The production which stood at tonnes in increased to tonnes in 94-95, registering 8.42 percent increase in the annual growth rate

15 126 over the previous year. This is mainly due to the increase in area as well as the productivity in the same year. The years and also witnessed a substantial rise in production with the annual growth rate of 7.44 percent and 8.39 percent respectively when compared to the previous year owing to better climatic conditions. The year and experienced only a marginal increase in the annual growth rate by 1.31 percent and 0.16 percent respectively over the previous years. In the year , there was a substantial increase in the production of rubber mainly because of the increase in the tapped area and the favourable climatic conditions that prevailed. The production increased to tonnes with an annual growth rate of 9.58 percent over and this was the highest growth attained since The various factors could be attributed to the robust growth in production, the key factor being the improved prices of rubber. It is also observed from the table that the production was the maximum during with tonnes registering a growth rate of 6.26 percent increase over the previous year But in the production declined to tonnes from 8,52,895 tonnes during , recording a negative growth rate of 3.2 percent. The fall in production was mainly the result of vector borne diseases affecting tappers in the major rubber growing areas, unfavourable weather conditions and abnormal leaf fall.

16 127 It is also inferred from the table that the trend value for rubber production in India increased from tonnes in to tonnes in Rubber Production in traditional rubber growing states Rubber cultivation had been traditionally confined to a narrow belt extending from Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu in the south to Dakshin Kannada and Kodagu district of Karnataka. Later on cultivation was extended to non traditional regions such as the north-east hinterlands of coastal Karnataka, Goa, Kongan regions of Maharastra, coastal Andrapradesh, Orissa and certain areas of West Bengal. 4 At present more than 94 percent of the rubber products in India is from traditional rubber growing tract of Kerala, and parts of Tamil Nadu, where there is no further scope for expansion of area under rubber. Hence cultivation has been extended to non traditional area Rubber Production in Kerala Rubber occupies a dominant position among the plantation crops and plays an important role in the economic development of Kerala. It holds near monopoly position in the cultivation and production of rubber and contributes 91 percent of the India s total rubber production. The state has been maintaining this unique position since the introduction of rubber cultivation in the country. More than nine lakh rubber growers are engaged 4 Rubber Grower s Guide, Rubber Board, Kottayam, 2008.

17 128 directly in the production. The geographical and agroclimatic suitability proved congenial for rubber cultivation in Kerala. Considering the significant role that the state plays in rubber production, the government of India selected Kottayam as headquarters of the rubber board. The production of rubber and its trend value from to is exhibited in Table 4.6. Year TABLE No. 4.6 RUBBER PRODUCTION IN KERALA FROM TO Production (in tones) Increase / Decrease Percentage Increase / Decrease Trend value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is inferred from Table 4.6, that the production in Kerala rose from tonnes in to tonnes in In the

18 129 years 94-95, and 96-97, there was a substantial increase with the growth rate of 8.45 percent, 7.16 percent and 8.05 percent respectively. It is also observed from the table, that the production was at the maximum growth rate of percent during Improved price, increase in tapped area, conducive climatic conditions and adoption of all innovations in rubber production were some of the reasons for the increase in production. However in the year , the production decreased by tonnes over the previous year there by showing a negative growth rate of 3.85 percent. Drop in the production was caused by vector borne diseases such as Chikungunya and other fevers in rubber plantation areas in the state coupled with heavy rain. The trend value increased from tonnes in to tonnes in Rubber Production in Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu, the major areas of rubber plantations are in Kanyakumari District. About 97 percent of rubber production in Tamil Nadu is carried out in this district. The climate is conducive for the growth of rubber and soil is also very fertile and is suitable for rubber plantation. Production of rubber, their increase / decrease of natural rubber, and the trend value are represented in Table 4.7.

19 130 Year TABLE No. 4.7 RUBBER PRODUCTION IN TAMILNADU FROM TO Production (in tones) Increase / Decrease Percentage Increase / Decrease Trend value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is observed from Table 4.7 that the production increased from tonnes in to tonnes in The production increased during the years 95-96, and by 2270 tonnes, 1170 tonnes and 1088 tonnes respectively. The increase in production was

20 131 mainly because of the use of high yielding clones, better adoption of agro management and crop harvesting patterns. The production remained constant in the year when compared with the previous years. In the year the production showed a negative growth rate of 0.83 percent, because unseasonal rains caused severe fungal disease incidences during the same year. The trend value increased from tonnes in to 25,046 tonnes in Rubber Production in Kanyakumari District Rubber is one of the important cash crop in the district. It is the only district in Tamil Nadu where rubber production exists on a large scale and the country s best rubber producing areas are in this district. About 97 percent of rubber production in Tamil Nadu is carried out in this district. The climate is conducive for the growth of rubber plantation in this district. The soil is also very fertile and is suitable for rubber plantation. This district also receives good rainfall and the annual rainfall varies from about mm to mm. 5 Rubber productions in this district during the study period, its percentage of change and trend value are depicted in Table Agrostat, Joint Director of Agriculture, Kanyakumari District, 2006.

21 132 TABLE No. 4.8 RUBBER PRODUCTION IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT FROM Year Production (in tones) TO Increase / Decrease Percentage Increase / Decrease Trend value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is observed from Table 4.8 that the production in the study area increased from tonnes to tonnes during the study period. There was a boom in the production during the years and During these years the production increased by percent and percent over the previous year. Conducive climatic conditions expansion of

22 133 tapped area and free technical assistance by the Rubber Board were the main reasons for the increase in production. In there was only a marginal increase in the production with 0.15 percent increase. Decline in the production was due to heavy and incessant rain during October In the year , there was a decrease in the production by 195 tonnes over the previous year , due to adverse climatic conditions and non-adoption of better agro management practices. Production of Rubber in India and the contribution of Kanyakumari District to India and Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu the major areas of rubber plantations are in Kanyakumari district and about 97 percent of rubber production in Tamil Nadu is carried out by this district. The overall production and Kanyakumari district s contribution to India and Tamil Nadu is exhibited in Table 4.9.

23 134 TABLE No. 4.9 PRODUCTION OF RUBBER IN INDIA AND KANYAKUMARI Year All India Production (tones) DISTRICT S CONTRIBUTION Production in TNU (tones) Production in Kanyakumari District Contribution of Kanyakumari District To India To Tamil Nadu Source: Complied from Table 4.5, 4.7 and 4.8. It is observed from Table 4.9 that the percentage of share of Kanyakumari District to the over all India s rubber production ranged between 2.75 percent to 3.35 percent and its share to Tamilnadu ranged

24 135 between percent and percent during the period under study. The share of Kanyakumari District in all India production was maximum of 3.35 percent during to and in Tamilnadu the production was a maximum of during In the year the overall production of rubber in India was 6,31,400 tonnes. Among that the contribution of Tamil Nadu was tonnes. Within this tonnes, tonnes was the contribution of Kanyakumari District. So in a nutshell in this year the share of Kanyakumari District to Tamilnadu was the highest with percent during the study period and the district contributed 3.35 percent among the over all production. In the consecutive year the overall production rate in Tamil Nadu increased but there was a slight decrease in the contribution of Kanyakumari District to the over all production. In , the overall production rate decreased from tonnes to tonnes but the production rate of Tamilnadu had a marginal decrease of nearly 200 tonnes only. Among that, the share of Kanyakumari district had a huge fall of 195 tonnes and the share of Kanyakumari District to the over all production was 2.82 percent. Thus it is inferred from the table that the share of Kanyakumari District in the overall production and production in Tamilnadu was more or less equal during the period under study.

25 136 TABLE No GROWTH AND MAGNITUDE OF VARIABILITY OF RUBBER PRODUCTION IN INDIA FROM TO India Particulars Kerala State Semi-log Regression Constant co-efficient (0.22) R CGR (Percent / Annum) CV (Percent) Tamil Nadu State Kanyakumari District Source: Complied from Table 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 and It is revealed from Table 4.10 that the trend in rubber production in all the main producing states were positive and statistically significant at 5 percent level. It implies that production was significantly increasing in India during the study period. It could also be observed from the table, that the production increased by percent. Kerala state occupied the highest growth rate with percent and Tamil Nadu by 7.87 percent. The growth in the study area also increased by percent per annum. It is also inferred from the table, that there exists a considerable variation in the production of rubber. Among the various states, Kerala recorded percent fluctuation in the production and Tamil Nadu with percent. Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu experienced percent fluctuation during the study period.

26 Area under Rubber Cultivation in India The foundation of the Indian rubber industry was laid only with the first commercial plantation of rubber at Thekkadi near Kochi in Kerala in 1902 by the British planters. The industry has since had a gradual development with its share of ups and downs. Rubber cultivation was confined to estates in early The share of area under the small holding sector surpassed that of estates. Currently 89 percent of the area is contributed by small holding sector which is composed of nearly units in Notably the average size of small holding in the country is less than half a hectare. The continuation of subsidy schemes for new planting as well as replanting, the efficiency in grass root level extension work, the release of 400 series clones and the favourable market for rubber supports the process of area expansion. The disaggregation of small holdings and estates, percentages of change and their trend value are provided in Table 4.11.

27 138 TABLE No AREA UNDER RUBBER CULTIVATION IN INDIA FROM TO Area (hectares) Percentage Year Small Trend Estates Total Inc/dec Inc/dec Holdings Value Average Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, Table 4.11 reveals that the total area under rubber increased from hectares to hectares as a result of sustained progress in the area of research and extension. During the years , and , the annual growth rate in area expansion pegged at 0.73 percent, 0.69 percent and 0.55 percent due to persistent slackening in the

28 139 planting front caused by low prices which prevailed since The tempo of planting was always sensitive to price fluctuations. The improvement in price since , the new subsidy schemes for the new planting and replanting, the efficiency in grass root level extension work, the release of new 400 series clones and the favourable market for rubber supported the process of area expansion. The table also reveals that the rubber plantation was dominated by small holdings. In , out of the total area, small holding was 85 percent and it has increased to 89 percent during Estates constituted 15 percent during and decreased gradually year by year and it stood at 11 percent during In the year small holdings increased by hectares. Due to the Increase in price and the growing demand for rubber, small farmers began to plant rubber even in their vacant land below one hectare. Better gain tempted them to remove the existing plants and plant rubber. It is also revealed from the table, that the area under rubber cultivation showed an increasing trend during the period under study. The trend value increased from hectares in to in

29 Area under Rubber Cultivation in traditional rubber growing states The important feature of the Indian Rubber plantation industry is the regional concentration of the area under the crop. The relative share of Kerala and the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, together constituting the traditional rubber growing region in the country, was 98 percent in But there was a shift in the geographical consumption of area over the years and the relative share of traditional region came down to 84 percent in This structural change has stemmed from the rubber board s policies and programmes implemented during the VI and VII five years plans for the introduction and promotion of rubber cultivation in the non-traditional regions especially in the northeast. Currently rubber is successfully grown in Karnataka, Tripula, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa and Maharastra. Besides the crop has recently been introduced in the states of Orissa, Andhrapradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. However, Kerala enjoys a near monopoly position by holding 80 percent of the area occupied by the crop in the country even today. Area under rubber in major states are shown in Table 4.12, Table 4.13 and Table 4.14.

30 Area under Rubber in Kerala Rubber occupies a proud place in the economy of Kerala. It is the traditional and major rubber growing area of the country. Though initially there were only large estates, rubber plantation gradually emerged as a small holders crop as many farms choose to go in for this obviously motivated by this lucratic nature and the liberal institutional support enjoyed by it. One of the apparent features of the pattern of growth of rubber plantation industry is in output growth. This spectacular increase in output of rubber may be observed as the consequence of the increase in area under cultivation and yield per hectare. The area under small holdings and estates, increase / decrease and trend value are exhibited in Table 4.12.

31 142 TABLE No AREA UNDER RUBBER CULTIVATION IN KERALA FROM TO Area (hectares) Percentage Year Small Trend Estates Total Inc/dec Inc/dec Holdings Value Average Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, Table 4.12 depicts that the total area of production increased by hectares during the study period. Widespread prevalence of root wilt disease of coconut in central Kerala and a relatively remunerative price for rubber during the period fuelled the process of crop shift in favours of rubber. However owing to a prolonged sluggishness in the rubber market,

32 143 the years , and , suffered a major set back in the process of area expansion. In these years the growth rate was 0.31 percent, 0.14 percent and 0.21 percent respectively. During the year , and there was an increase in new planting activity because of the upward trend in the price of rubber and the new incentive schemes introduced by the Rubber Board. During these years the total area under cultivation increased by 8140 hectares, 8940 hectares and 9305 hectares respectively. The table also shows that the rubber plantation was dominated by small growers, accounting for percent of the area by the end of It is also revealed from the table that the trend value increased from hectares during to hectares during Area under Rubber in Tamil Nadu In Tamil Nadu, rubber is cultivated in the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats and North Eastern regions. The area under rubber cultivation for the past fifteen years is given in Table The table also shows the trend value and the percentage of changes in the area of rubber cultivation over the previous year.

33 144 TABLE No AREA UNDER RUBBER CULTIVATION IN TAMIL NADU Year FROM TO Area (hectares) Percentage Small Holdings Estates Total Inc/dec Inc/dec Trend Value Average Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is observed from Table 4.13 that the area under rubber production in Tamil Nadu showed an increasing trend during the period under study. Total area increased from hectares in to hectares in During the year and , there was a negative growth rate of 0.03 percent at 0.39 percent. This was because people hesitated for new planting of rubber due to the slackening in the price. However from onwards, there was a marginal increase in

34 145 the area of cultivation. In the year , the area increased by 418 hectares, as a result of attractive price that prevailed in the market since July The total small holdings also increased from 9621 hectares in to hectares in and estates decreased by 1029 hectares during this period. It is also found from the table, that the trend value for the area under rubber cultivation increased from hectares in to hectares in Area under Rubber Cultivation in Kanyakumari District Kanyakumari district is predominantly an agricultural district. About 63 percent of total geographical area of this district is under cultivation. Rubber is extensively cultivated in three taluks of this district namely Thovalai, Kalkuzham and Vilavancode out of the 4 taluks of the district. Kalikesam, Thadikarankonam, Surulodu, Chitthiranciodu, Valiaatumuham,Matthur, Kulasekaram, Pulliyoor Chalai, Karodu, Vellaradai, Mukkutukal, Kadayalumoodu, Allansolai, Panichamoodu, Kaliyal, Pechiparai, Anchukandavai and Chitthar are the major rubber growing areas in the above mentioned three taluks. Kanyakumari District accounts for 97 percent of the area under rubber cultivation in Tamil Nadu. The area has steadily increased when compared to other major crops, like

35 146 paddy, banana and tapioca. The Rubber Board has launched various incentive programmes to bring additional areas under cultivation of rubber. The area under rubber in the estates and the small holdings and the trend value during the study period is shown in Table TABLE No AREA UNDER RUBBER CULTIVATION IN KANYAKUMARI Year DISTRICT FROM TO Area (hectares) Percentage Small Holdings Estates Total Inc/dec Inc/dec Average Trend Value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board Kottayam, Table 4.14 reveals that the area under rubber cultivation went up from hectares in to hectares in During the year , the area under rubber cultivation increased remarkably

36 147 by 578 hectares with the highest growth rate of 3.4 percent during the study period. There was only a marginal increase in area during the year , , and due to slackening in the market caused by low price since During , and , there was a negative growth rate of 0.43 percent, 0.08 percent at 0.22 percent respectively. However as a result of attractive price, subsidy schemes for new planting and replanting and favourable market supported the years of area expansion during the years of , and The area increased by 233 hectares and 409 hectares during these years respectively. In there was only a marginal increase in the area of 173 hectares because of the unfavourable climatic conditions. It is also revealed from the table, that the small holdings increased year by year and by the end of they accounted for percent of the total area. The trend value also increased from hectares in to hectares in

37 148 TABLE No TREND AND MAGNITUDE OF VARIABILITY OF AREA UNDER RUBBER IN INDIA FROM TO India Particulars Total Area Tapped Area Kerala State Total Area Tapped Area Tamil Nadu State Total Area Tapped Area Kanyakumari District Total Area Semi-log Regression Constant coefficient (0.07) (0.006) (0.012) (0.006) (0.008) (0.004) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.009) (0.001) Tapped Area (0.004) (0.000) Source: Complied from Table 4.11, 4.12, 4.13 & R CGR (Percent / Annum) CV (Percent) It is observed from Table 4.15, that the trend co-efficient in the case of the area of rubber production in India and all the major rubber producing states including the study area was positive and significant at one percent level. It implies that there was a significant increase in the growth of the area under rubber cultivation.

38 149 It could be seen from the table, that the total area and tapped area in India increased significantly by 3.24 percent and percent per annum. Compound growth rate of the total area and the tapped area in the major rubber cultivation states also increased significantly by percent and percent in Kerala, 1.45 percent and percent in Tamilnadu and percent and 3.27 percent per annum in the study area. It is also observed from the table that the total and the tapped area under rubber cultivation in India experienced a considerable variation of 6.36 percent and 9.79 percent during the period under study. Variation in study area was 3.18 percent in the total area and 6.32 percent in the tapped area. 4.6 Tapped Area, Production and Productivity of Rubber In India The important characteristic feature of Indian rubber plantation industry is the marginal and tiny size of the individual units in the dominant small holding sector. The good status of this sector in adopting frontier technologies is a crucial factor determining the aggregate productivity of rubber in the country. Though size constrained, the level of technology among the small holding sector is quite appreciable. More than 95 percent of the total area under the crop is occupied by high yielding varieties of planting material. Apart from introducing high yielding varieties in adopting short term productivity enhancement measures the small holding sector of

39 150 the country is not behind the estate sector. The expansion of tapped area, the use of high yielding varieties of clones, the better adoption of agro management practices and the intensive tapping are the important factors determining the aggregate productivity of rubber in the country. Because of the positive influence of the above factors, the average productivity increased from 1285 kg/ha to 1879 kg/ha in being the highest in the world. Since the increase in productivity was coupled with a sustained growth in the expansion tapped area there was acceleration in the production of rubber. Tapped area, production, productivity and trend value of rubber in India and in traditional major rubber producing regions in India are represented in Table 4.16, 4.17, 4.18, and 4.19.

40 151 TABLE No TAPPED AREA UNDER PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF Year Tapped Area hectares) RUBBER IN INDIA Production (Tones) Productivity (kgs/hect) Average Inc/Dec Percentage inc/dec Trend Value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is known from Table 4.16, that the tapped area increased from hectares in to hectares in The tapped area under rubber cultivation increased remarkably by hectares in , hectares in and 7005 hectares in

41 152 It is obvious that the increase in the tapped area resulted in the increase in production by tonnes in , tonnes in and tonnes in but during the year , though the tapped area increased by 4760 hectares and the production decreased by tonnes against the previous year because of the adverse climatic conditions. The productivity of rubber per hectare increased from 1285 kilogram in to 1799 kilogram in The table also reveals that the productivity increased by 81 kg in 96-97, 71 kg in and 91 kg in with the growth rate of 5.7 percent, 4.5 percent and 5.3 percent when compared to their respective previous year. The Productivity which was 1796 kg in , had grown to 1879 kg / ha in the highest being in the world. But in the year , due to abnormal leaf fall and unfavourable weather condition the average productivity declined to 1799 kg/, with the negative growth rate of 4.2 percent against the previous year. The average productivity during the study period was 1590 kg. The table also reveals that the trend value increased from 1346 kg/hectares to 1834 kg/hectares during the study period.

42 153 TABLE No TAPPED AREA UNDER PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF Year Tapped Area (hectares) Production (Tonnes) RUBBER IN KERALA Productivity (kgs/hect) Average Inc/Dec Percentage inc/dec Trend Value Source: Indian Rubber Statistics, Vol.32, Rubber Board, Kottayam, It is observed from Table 4.17 that the tapped area increased from hectares in to hectares in As a result of expansion in the tapped area, the production also increased from tonnes to tonnes during this period. It is also revealed from the table that the productivity increased by 86 kg/hect in and kg/ hect. with the growth rate of 6.6 percent and 5.9 percent against the respective previous years. The