Rubber farmers from Kerala, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, affiliated to the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), demanded a fair remunerative price of at least ₹300 for a kilogram of natural rubber. They held a protest in New Delhi on Thursday against the Centre and alleged that the policies of the government are in favour of multinational tyre manufacturers.
The farmers said they should be adequately compensated in accordance with the increase in the cost of production.
“It is humanly impossible to survive with the present dismal price. Adding salt to the injury, the Modi regime is in the process of dismantling the Rubber Board and paving the way for intense corporate control. The Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2023 is a clear instance of pro corporate policy by the BJP led Union government,” the AIKS said in a statement.
Leaders of AIKS, who spoke at the protest gathering, said a recent verdict of Competition Commission of India (CCI) that fined tyre manufacturers of about ₹1,788 crores for market manipulation is yet to be implemented.
“While rubber farmers and workers are struggling, leading tyre MNCs like MRF, Apollo, JK, CEAT, and Birla amassed wealth. This fortune is at the cost of the lives of the rubber farmers,” the AIKS alleged and demanded that the fine imposed by CCI on tyre manufacturers must be distributed among rubber farmers.
The leaders said Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN countries resulted in duty-free imports of rubber from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries.
“Imports of natural rubber into India increased from 45 metric tonnes in 2005-06 to 5.28 lakh metric tonnes in 2022-23,” the AIKS said adding that tyre manufacturing giants benefited from such agreements.
