The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on Friday demanded immediate government intervention to regulate alleged monopolistic practices in the tyre industry, citing a sharp decline in natural rubber prices that has severely impacted farmers' livelihoods.
Natural rubber prices have plummeted from Rs 247 per kg on August 9 to Rs 184 per kg on October 24 in the benchmark Kottayam market, according to the Rubber Board. The farmers' organisation alleged that tyre manufacturers have formed a cartel to manipulate prices.
"Several traders from Kerala have publicly stated that tyre monopolies have consciously stopped buying natural rubber in recent weeks to create panic in the market," AIKS said in a statement.
The situation has particularly affected Kerala, India's largest rubber-producing state, where farmers are reportedly facing an "existential crisis." Similar concerns have been raised in Tripura, where rubber cultivation is a primary income source for tribal farmers.
Data shows that natural rubber imports surged 22 percent year-on-year between April and September, rising from 254,488 tonnes to 310,713 tonnes. AIKS alleged that tyre manufacturers lobby for duty-free imports when domestic prices rise but fail to support exports when international prices are higher.
The current domestic price trails the international market (Bangkok) by approximately Rs 30 per kg. Market rates show significant regional variations, with traders' prices in Kerala at Rs 177 per kg (as on October 24), while farmers in districts outside Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Ernakulam reportedly receive Rs 5-10 per kg less.
A recent study on the NR Market in Kerala has shown how tyre monopolies jointly stop procuring from the domestic market to artificially plummet the price.
AIKS has called for implementing a fair price mechanism for natural rubber to ensure remunerative prices for farmers. The organisation termed the fight against the alleged tyre cartel "a patriotic duty" to protect rubber as a strategic crop.