The only available option for rubber smallholders to survive and prosper in the coming days is to adopt established and viable technologies, and for the Government, to provide them monetary grants to invest in such technologies
It is an established fact that rubber smallholders over decades of their existence have been subjected to boom and bust cycles as characterised by vagaries of widely fluctuating rubber prices. They are at the mercy and held to ransom by rubber prices over which they have no influence or control whatsoever. The bust phases due to depressed prices inevitably drive them into cyclical periods of poverty which render mere survival economically very challenging and insurmountable. This is further accentuated in bulk of the rubber smallholdings which are characterized by uneconomic size per holding (less than 3 hectares) with limited upside for increased yield production with use of conventional exploitation systems.
Desperate measures
Rubber smallholders in most NR countries during periods of depressed prices resort to desperate measures to overcome the impact of low rubber prices on their livelihood. These measures include maximizing yield productivity through very intensive tapping with long cuts on daily tapping thus sacrificing valuable productive bark without compensatory yield increase and shortened economic life of trees, abandoning tapping altogether and taking on temporary jobs if available, cutting down rubber trees and opting for cultivation of other crops and opting for early replanting effectively incurring loss of income from rubber trees over several years. These desperate measures adopted by smallholders do not provide them with long-term solutions. While some of these measures may provide temporary relief from economic hardship, the others will not provide any immediate solutions for their financial difficulties.
Denne historien er fra November - December-2017-utgaven av Rubber Asia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November - December-2017-utgaven av Rubber Asia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EVS: What's In Store For Rubber Auto Components?
Evs are going to rule our roads sooner or later. The crucial question here is: How far will this affect the rubber auto components sector? Though there are no clear estimations of the impact of EVs on the auto components industry, indications are that innovative and light-weight rubber and plastic components will have immense scope in the EV era.
TECHNOLOGY IS DISRUPTING TRUCK TIRE MAINTENANCE
Companies that adopt disruptive technologies like Cloud-based, TPMS 2.0 systems position themselves to be extremely successful in a fastchanging and highly-competitive environment by utilizing the data and visibility this technology provides to optimize tire performance and maintenance and expedite operations.
SLOWDOWN HAS NO IMPACT ON AUTO RUBBER COMPONENT INDUSTRY
FROST & SULLIVAN EXECUTIVES
PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL RUBBER COMPOUND REQUIREMENTS WITH STATE OF THE ART MIXING FACILITY: MR. ADITYA GUPTA, CEO, GB GUMMI LLP
GB Group has been a leading innovator, manufacturer and supplier of rubber molded, rubber to metal bonded and sealing products for automotive and industrial applications for over three decades. With experience and foresight of more than 37 years with GB rubber products, GB Gummi LLP is a strategical move of entering into the rubber compounding business with its expertise in the manufacturing of rubber products, realizing the growing demand for the high-quality rubber compound. In an interview with Rubber Asia, Aditya Gupta, CEO of the company, says that GB Gummi LLP is poised to make significant strides in the global rubber compounding market. According to him, the company will closely monitor the current and future demands of the automotive industry. “As far as compounding is concerned, we are future-ready in terms of recipes and production capabilities for any form of industry,” he adds. EXCERPTS:
INDIAN NR MARkET GETS A BREATHER
After the recent spell of poor prices mainly on account of growing imports and lower international prices, the Indian natural rubber market is witnessing a resurgence of late. The trend is attributed to the slump in production in the major NR producing countries like Thailand and Indonesia due to widespread fungal infection in rubber trees. Against this backdrop, indications are that domestic prices are all set to bounce.
HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?
Following the UK proposal for a ban on heavy duty tyres over 10 years of age and the possible extension of this to tyres used on taxis as well, most new tyre manufacturers are more cautious of setting an age limit on the use of their products than stressing the importance of regular checking and good maintenance.
FOR WIDENING SKILLING REACH RSDC & NSKFDC JOIN HANDS
Continuing with its drive to extend the benefits of skilling to the lowest strata of society, RSDC has tied up with National Safai Karamcharis Finance And Development Corporation (NSKFDC), a Government of India undertaking.
EFFICIENCIES & SURVIVAL
What other low hanging fruit is available to the modern transport operator that compares with the savings that can be generated by real time monitoring of tyres? Give the humble tyre that supports the loads you impose the only thing it requires to perform for your gain -- the appropriate level of inflation. It is only air, it costs little and provides far greater returns than any other “improvement”
BATTLE RAGING AGAINST PART-WORNS IN EUROPE
Recently organisations around Europe have stepped up their ongoing campaigns against the continued totally illegal and irresponsible practice of promoting and selling part-worn tyres
APOLLO TYRES JOINS WITH GARC FOR FIRST TYRE TEST TRACK IN INDIA
This test track will be used for testing wet grip of tyres as per standard specifications
