Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the Union government has no proposal before it to establish a Rubber Price Stabilisation Fund.
Replying to a starred question by Rajmohan Unnithan, Member of Parliament, Kasaragod, Kerala, the Minister said that the prices of natural rubber are determined in the open market based on demand and supply. International prices also influence domestic prices. The average price of natural rubber (RSS 4 grade) in Kottayam, Kerala, stood at ₹ 193.77 per kg between April and January of 2025-26, compared with an average of ₹170.77 per kg for FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25. The government, to regulate the import of natural rubber, had increased the duty on import of dry rubber from “20% or ₹30 per kg whichever is lower” to a bound rate of “25% or ₹30 per kg whichever is lower” with effect from April 30, 2015.
The government had reduced the period of utilisation of imported dry rubber under the advance licensing scheme from 18 months to six months in January 2015. The port of entry for the import of natural rubber had also been restricted to ports at Chennai and Nhava Sheva in January 2016. Further, in the Union Budget 2023-24, the rate of customs duty on compound rubber was increased from 10% to 25% or ₹30 per kg, whichever is lower, he said.
