PRESENTATION BEFORE THE EXPERT COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL RUBBER POLICY

M SUNNY SEBASTIANDIRECTOR (RTD.) RUBBER BOARD

REPRESENTING

ASSOCIATION OF LATEX PRODUCERS OF INDIAdrsunnysebastian @gmail.com

09447057248 O481 2572488

RUBBER PLANTATION SECTOR

Major issues to be addressed at Plantations are:ProductionProductivityEconomic Viability

ENHANCED NR PRODUCTION

Factors related to NR production are:• Area expansion – more relevant to

North East region• Timely replanting• High yielding clones – resistance to

disease

ENHANCED NR PRODUCTION

• Proper up keep of plantations.• Availability of funds• Skilled labour – especially tappers• Higher out put from workers• Better incentives and welfare

measures to workers

IMPROVEMENT IN PRODUCTIVITY

Development of high yielding clones suitable for the region with special reference to agro climatic conditions.

Clones resistant to pests and diseases.

Proper maintenance of plantations.

IMPROVEMENT IN PRODUCTIVITY

Improved tapping practices.

Better out put from workers.

Means to overcome global warming and adverse climatic conditions.

ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Rubber planters shall get a reasonable profit from plantations. Contributing factors are: Assured market demand Price of NR – Domestic Vs International Control over price volatality. Labour availability at reasonable wages Contd…..

ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Improved out put from workers Availability of plantation inputs at

reasonable prices High quality of processed rubber. Auxiliary income from plantations,

especially during immature phase. Demand of rubber wood.

RUBBER PROCESSING

• Crop from plantations are field latex and field coagulum.• Marketable forms of NR are RSS,

TSR, Crepe rubber, (PLC,EBC), Preserved field latex and Concentrated latex.

DRAWBACKS OF INDIAN NATURAL RUBBER

• Lack of uniformity and consistency.• Low quality (lot rubber, block

rubber processed out of field coagulum from small growers).

CONSISTENT SUPPLIES OF NATURAL RUBBER.

• Being a natural product NR has some inherent variability.

• NR supplies from small grower sector are highly variable.

• Large volume consumers demand consistency in properties.

• Group processing activities, operating on a large scale can provide consistent supplies.

QUALITY OF NATURAL RUBBER

• Quality of sheet rubber.

• Quality of TSR.

• Quality of concentrated latex

QUALITY OF SHEET RUBBER

• Poor rubber processing practices at small grower level.

• Even after continued quality upgrading activities, at least 25% of RSS are below RSS 5 grade.

• Group processing activities, following standard operating procedures, can supply high quality RSS.

QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY OF TSR

• In India , above 90 % of the total TSR is produced out of field coagulum (FC). Accordingly quality of FC is very important.

• Poor handling and storage practices for FC.• TSR factories operating on a large scale can

produce consistent TSR.• FC before undergoing quality deterioration

shall be available to TSR processors.

ISSUES FACED BY TSR PROCESSORS

• Scarcity of raw material FC and its high price.

• Storage of FC by growers and traders.• High conversion cost due to low capacity

utilization.• Poor quality of FC. Contd…

ISSUES FACED BY TSR PROCESSORS

• Low demand from consuming industries.

• TSR factories in India are of low installed capacities. Hence large volume supplies of consistent quality to bulk consumers are not possible.

• Bulk consumers prefer imported TSR.

HOW TO SORT OUT THE TSR ISSUE.

• Large volume availability of FC.• This may be met by imports.• Availability of FC by imports will prevent

long storage and quality deterioration of domestically produced FC.

IMPORT OF FIELD COAGULUM

• Will not affect the domestic rubber scenario.• Now large volumes of TSR, processed out of

FC are imported.• TSR factories can reduce conversion costs due

to increased capacity utilization.• More job opportunities in India. Contd….

IMPORT OF FIELD COAGULUM

• Value addition of FC done in our country.• Profit margin to Indian Industries.• Savings in foreign exchange.• Import of FC will indirectly improve the

quality of our FC.• Now import of FC is not allowed.

IMPORT OF NATURAL RUBBER IN 2013 - 14

Type Quantity (MT)

% of total

RSS 92647 28.38

TSR 230900 70.73

Others 2887 0.88

Total 326434 100

COST REDUCTION IN RUBBER PROCESSING

• Mechanization in material handling. This will reduce human fatigue.

• Waste reduction• Energy management and waste energy

recovery.• Development of driers to reduce fuel

consumption, labour and time for sheet processing.

CONCENTRATED LATEX

• Centrifugal process ~ 95%.• Creaming ~ 5%.• Sale of field latex – the easiest method of

sale to rubber growers.• Increasing transportation cost to processing

factory.• Non availability of field latex in all seasons. Contd…

CONCENTRATED LATEX

• Almost all latex processing units operate on small scale.

• Low capacity utilization.• Poor market demand• Cost of inputs always on increasing

trend• Low price of concentrated latex.

QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY OF CONCENTRATED

• Inconsistency in quality of preserved field latex.

• Supplies of concentrated latex shall meet Indian standards.

• Consistency in quality is lacking.• Manufactures of condoms and medical

gloves require high quality concentrated latex, but price is not attractive.

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION

• Rubber processing is associated with some amount of air and water pollution.

• Development of process to reduce environment pollution.

• Installation of environment protection measures.

• Agencies to provide technical support in environment protection at reasonable cost.

TRADER ACTIVITY IN NR SECTOR

• Trading is an essential branch of any industry.• Storing of raw rubber (sheet, FC and PFL) for

long periods lead to quality deterioration.• Maximum shelf life without appreciable

quality deterioration may be six months. Contd…

TRADER ACTIVITY IN NR SECTOR

• Benefit of storing goes to traders.• Some funding mechanism and

infrastructure for storing as a group activity of rubber growers.

NR IN NON CONVENTIONAL APPLICATIONS

• Proven avenues are available, but not utilized.(eg. Rubberized bitumen.)

• New areas of application to be developed. (eg. Corrosion resistant (to sea water) NR based paints. Flame resistant conveyor belts based on NR).

PROMOTIONS OF NEW RUBBER BASED INDUSTRIES

• Government may provide financial support in setting up new rubber based industries, that are cost competitive.

• Rubber products can be sold either in India or exported. Now we are importing a lot of rubber articles.

• New factories will generate more job opportunities in the country.

• Domestically produced rubber will have assured market.

SYNTHETIC RUBBERS

• Largest volume rubber is SBR.• Domestic production of synthetic rubbers is

low. We depend mostly on imports.• In some areas NR cannot replace SR.• Some more SR factories required in India.

SYNTHETIC RUBBERS

• Raw material for SR production mostly oil based.

• Most synthetic rubbers are less biodegradable compared to NR.

• In India mandatory quality parameters for NR, but not for SR.

• Consignments from different suppliers vary, but no mechanism for control.

RECLAIMED RUBBER

• Recycling of worn out rubber articles (especially tyres) is essential for environment protection.

• Reclaimed rubber is cheap.• Being a recycled material, performance

characteristics are lower than virgin rubber.

RECLAIMED RUBBER

• Consumption of reclaimed rubber to be promoted, especially in non critical applications.

• Virgin rubber (NR or SR) can be conserved.

• Some reclaim manufactures follow very crude methods, producing inferior materials

RUBBER PRODUCT MANUFACTURE

• India is the second largest rubber consumer; but our consumption is only about 25% of that of China.

• Ample scope for expansion.• Import substitution.• Export potential.

R & D ACTIVITIES : PRIORITIES IN PRODUCT MANUFACTURE

• Replacement of chemicals that are objected by consuming countries.

• Development of faster curing systems, without affecting product performance.

• Technology for enhanced service life of rubber articles

LICENCING PROCEDURE

• Licenses are required from various government departments

• Single window licensing procedure may be implemented through out the country for rubber based industries.

• There shall be a time frame for licensing procedures.

• Immediate solution to grievances.

COMMON TESTING FACILITIES

• Testing equipment in rubber industry are expensive.

• Trained personnel are required.• Use of equipment for short periods only.

Industries on a charged basis.• Govt. may provide common testing facilities

at various centers, which can be used by industries.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO INDUSTRIES

Technical services at reasonable rates may be available for• Rubber compound development• Updated information on regulations in other

countries. (eg. FDA regulations in US, REACH restrictions in EU countries.

• Technical assistance in trouble shooting.

THANK YOU

THANK YOU