It is a given that natural rubber has brought with it good fortunes to Kerala. But then, that’s an old story. Import glut, climate change, and finally the pandemic, have rattled the sector several times over the last couple of decades, sapping Kerala’s enthusiasm for the rubber crop. Fluctuating prices, combined with soaring input costs, have made these rubber holdings far from profitable.
And, these plantations will probably never turn profitable unless they diversify, according to Santosh Kumar, Executive Director, Harrisons Malayalam Group. “Cultivation of rubber, a commodity that is in abundant supply world over, is an extremely labour-intensive operation,” he noted.
