Lanka can exploit Indian rubber market

Huge potential for raw, dry and latex rubber:

Harshini Perera

The automobile sector in India is growing rapidly making more opportunities for Lankan rubber products. The Indian rubber industry at present is not ready to fill the gap due to the low production. Sri Lanka as the neighbouring country can export rubber to India, Export Development Board Director General Sujatha Weerakoon told the seminar on India Rubber Expo 2011 yesterday.

“Raw, dry and latex rubber can be exported to India. Apart from that, some finished products as well as raw materials from Sri Lanka can exploit Indian market opportunities,” the Director General said.

The import needs of rubber products in India is filled by the countries like China and Thailand now. Sri Lanka can be a prospective source to fill this gap.

She said gloves are being produced in Sri Lanka that are later sent to India for sterilization which are again exported or used in India.

“Though many rubber producing countries have had a great impact from the economic recession, India has been able to gain a higher growth surpassing any other country,” All India Rubber Industries Association Senior Vice President Vinod Simon said.

He was speaking at the seminar held for the forthcoming event India Rubber Expo 2011 to be attended by 15,000 visitors and 300 exhibitors in Chennai, India from January 19 to 22, 2011.

India has taken this as an opportunity to exploit while others consolidated their production. There has not been a drop in the domestic production while other countries didn’t want to lose market share they had to the Indian market. Therefore rubber products in India has not had an impact due to the recession but had been growing rapidly.

India has had an annual growth in rubber products of seven to eight percent in various sectors such as transport, textile, space, defence, construction, ports and medicine. Sri Lankan rubber is demanded in all these sectors.

The annual turnover of the Indian market was US $ four billion 2006/2007 and it was US $ 4.8 billion in 2009/10.

Simon said India can assist and support Sri Lankan rubber production by providing education and technology. Sri Lanka supplies India with centrifuged latex and examination gloves. “Sri Lanka should concentrate on rubber cultivation since India has less land for cultivation. Young industrialists are needed for the industry in India as well as in Sri Lanka. They should be given necessary technical skills to meet the need in the industry,” he said.