Northeast, new frontier in India’s rubber growth

India’s widening demand-supply gap in natural rub-ber has triggered hopes for further expansion of rubber plantations in the Northeast region. Official data tabled in the parliament highlights the grim reality for tyre manufacturers and other rubber industries in the country, as demand is poised to increase manifold over the next five years, which traditional rubber-growing areas like Kerala will not be able to meet. This brings an opportunity for the region to tap the potential for boosting rubber production and generate more livelihood avenues. It is heartening to know that under the initiative of the tyre manufacturers’ association, natural rubber has already been planted in 1.51 lakh hectares of the targeted two lakh hectares in the region. The region’s climate is favourable for growing rubber, which can be leveraged to expand the area under it to tap the potential of becoming a key production centre for meeting the country’s goal of reducing import dependence of tyre manufacturers and other rubber-based industries. The availability of vast tracts of unutilised wasteland in the region is another strength for boosting rubber production. With the new initiative of rubber expansion in the region coming from tyre manufacturers, the growers have fewer worries of marketing and remunerative prices. Imparting training and skills to the rubber growers in the region to match the industry’s quality requirement needs to be prioritised to reduce rejection of processed rubber. The tyre manufacturing industry reducing import dependence is vital for preventing global price shocks and conflict-related supply shocks impacting the production targets in the country. The region is no stranger to spikes in vehicle demand growth. Significant expansion of national and state highways, expansion of the cities and towns coupled with a rise in disposable income, and more vehicles have come on the roads. Naturally, the tyre demand has also increased in the region along with the increase in vehicle sales. The rubber growers in the region can be easily convinced to expand the area under rubber by drawing their attention to significant growth in vehicle sales and rising tyre demand. The states in the region must ensure that expansion of area under rubber does not lead to replacement of cropped area and only wasteland is utilised. Educating traditional rubber growers about the adverse consequences of replacing cropped areas for cash crops like natural rubber is critical to building their capacity to negotiate market forces and big industrial players and withstand their pressure to convert their farmland into rubber-growing areas. It takes five to seven years for harvesting latex from a rubber plant after it is planted, and the growers getting the support of alternative livelihoods during this long period plays the most crucial role in the sustainability of rubber cultivation. Tripura’s success stories in rubber cultivation can be demonstrated to boost growth of natural rubber production in Assam and other states. The government and industry providing more funding support for climate-resilient and high-yielding rubber clones is essential for sustainable rubber cultivation in the region. The advantage of growing rubber is that even after 30 years of economically viable latex harvesting, the rubber wood can be obtained after cutting the trees for replanting the area with rubber plants. The rubberwoodhas high demand in the furniture industry and among buyers because of its durability and affordability, which ensures a good return for the growers after it is cut. Rubberwood is eco-friendly because the timber is not obtained by felling trees in a forest or outside a forest, and therefore its production is a pragmatic choice for an ecologically fragile region like the Northeast. Planting and replanting rubber trees must be well planned to ensure a steady supply for the rubberwoodindustry to sustain. Such planning can be possible only when the scale of rubber cultivation is quite large and growth is not incremental. Utilising the natural advantage of the region for commercial-scale production is not without challenges. Harvesting latex and processing it are skilled work for which adequate training is necessary to ensure that the yield is optimum and the processed rubber is of the best quality to fetch the best return for the growers. Trade and commerce initiatives and transborder connectivity projects initiated and pushed by the central government for the Northeast under the Act East Policy and Neighbourhood First policy have unlocked new market opportunities for industrial units based in the region. The region, by scaling up production of quality rubber and showcasing various subsidies available under the central-government-funded industrial scheme for the Northeast, can attract tyre manufacturers to set up units here to create more employment avenues for youth of the region. As the Indian rubber-based industry is grappling with the problem of rising demand and domestic supply constraints, the northeast region, realising its potential as a new growth frontier, can bring transformative changes to the region while increasing its share in national production.