Indian Tyremakers Face Shortage as NR Supplies Decline
Tyre manufacturers and other users of natural rubber in India may face a supply bottleneck due to the country’s declining natural rubber replantation rate during the past four years. According to a report in India’s The Economic Times newspaper, the rising price of natural rubber has created a reluctance amongst rubber growers to re-plant; trees cannot be tapped for rubber during their first seven years of life, so farmers are avoiding replantation where possible and are continuing to tap older trees. Although this provides greater funds at present, a question mark hangs over future supply as both the quantity and quality of latex produced by older trees is inferior to that of younger trees.