Encouraged by the steady progress the State has been making in the production of rubber, the Government of Tripura has now decided to grow the plantation crop in an additional 30,000 hectares.
State Industry and Commerce Minister Manoj Kanti Deb said that 30,000 hectares of land will be further dedicated to the cultivation of the tropical tree crop in addition to the 87,000 hectares already being cultivated.
Tripura has been the second largest rubber producing State in India after Kerala.
The Minister informed that, on average, 90,712 metric tonnes of rubber is produced in Tripura annually, and the latex is mainly turned into rubber sheets for business. “One lakh ten thousand people from all over the State are involved in cultivation work on the plantations,” he added.
Although rubber trade in the State was hindered in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, business has now returned to its original levels, officials in the State’s Industry and Commerce Department said.
Rubber has been cultivated apace in Tripura for three decades with the help of a World Bank-funded project. At least 80% rubber planters come from the State's indigenous communities.
