Transcending the Regional Trappings of Natural Rubber Cultivation and Challenges of Evolving a National Rubber Policy in India

This paper provides a conceptual framework for the national rubber policy in India based on the inherited characteristics of the rubber sector and issues surfaced during the past two decades of trade policy reforms. Historically, the inherited interdependence observed between a vibrant NR production segment and a highly developed rubber products manufacturing industry had been unique and nurtured for achieving the twin national objectives of self-sufficiency and import substitution. In practice, the efficacy of the policy interventions had been prefixed by a very high degree of domestic market orientation and protection to both segments from external competition. However, growing exposure to external competition through the multilateral and RTA routes during the past two decades left serious strains on the harmonious relationships prevailed in the rubber sector. The strains of market integration are increasingly witnessed in the domestic market than in the export markets. A major casualty of these changes has been the interventionist policy approaches which guided the growth dynamics of the sector during 1947-91. Therefore, a comprehensive national rubber policy is expected not only to recognize the strategic importance of sustaining a self-reliant rubber sector but also to identify the inherent strengths and accumulated weaknesses of the embedded structure to capture synergies in the era of market integration.