Mosquitoes take the sting out of rubber market

Kerala, the land of latex, is reeling under a threat of avian kind. The viral fever attack, spread by mosquitoes, in the state has left the rubber industry in a very bad shape.

The main labour force of rubber plantations is now reeling under the viral fever attack and is not in a position to work in the estates.

Moreover, the fever has left the workers in a financial mess as hospital expenses have cost them dear this month.

In certain areas of Kerala's rubber region, entire families of rubber plantation workers are in hospitals.

The fever has also spread to labour force in rubber farms, stock-moving staff and traders to such level that latex production has fallen as never before this month.

The short-supply has also send price of RSS-4 grade shooting up from Rs 73 per kg in mid-June to Rs 83 per kg in mid-July.

Besides the domestic prices of rubber sheets creeping up, the sheer availability is a vexing issue. Even though on the climb, the Indian price of RSS-4 is sailing at about Rs 8

per kg lower than the price of its international equivalent.

Imports are costly now. But, if the farm-to-market stock flow was smooth enough, the rubber industry could have sourced heavily from Indian farms.

The rubber producers are equally disappointed. Many of them among the nearly two lakh people in central Kerala are bedridden with viral fever.

Over half of the rubber tapping workers are still down with high temperature, rashes and swollen joints. This means it is going to be several weeks before its business as usual in the rubber belt.

Rubber Board is yet to complete its computation of fever-related losses. There is a shortfall of about 15,000 tonne in the estimated market arrivals for May-June.

Doctors said the mosquito effect on rubber farm is no one-way street. Vector indices were highest in rubber farms, with mismanaged plastic rain guards luring mosquitoes.