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Rubber in Kerala

The large majority of India's natural rubber. This guide covers where rubber grows in Kerala, when it reaches the market, where and how it is sold, and who buys it.

AgricultureIndustry.in › Cash and Plantation Crops › Rubber in Kerala
Main districtsKottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kollam, Malappuram
SeasonTapping mostly September–February.
Government buyingNo MSP; private trade
ResearchKerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
Export routeKochi, Vizhinjam
StateKerala farm trade guide

About Rubber

India is a leading natural rubber producer and an even bigger consumer, because of its tyre industry. Kerala grows most of the crop.

Where Rubber Is Grown in Kerala

The main rubber districts of Kerala are Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kollam, Malappuram. Kerala is India's leading producer of natural rubber and coconut, and the traditional home of the spice trade. It grows banana (including Nendran), cashew, arecanut, ginger, rice in Kuttanad and Palakkad, and has a long history of cashew processing in Kollam.

Season in Kerala

Tapping mostly September–February. Exact arrival dates in Kerala depend on local sowing and the monsoon, so check current arrivals before planning purchases.

How Rubber Is Sold in Kerala

Kerala has no APMC Act. Produce is sold through private traders, cooperative societies and specialised boards for rubber, coconut and spices. Supplyco buys paddy from farmers.

Key markets for Rubber in Kerala

Other major markets in Kerala

State Agencies in Kerala

Rubber has no minimum support price, so it is bought almost entirely by private traders, processors and exporters. State marketing bodies regulate the markets and support farmer producer organisations.

Quality and Price Notes

Most small growers in Kerala make ribbed smoked sheets: latex is coagulated with acid in pans, rolled into sheets, and dried in smoke houses. Sheets are graded RSS1 to RSS5 by cleanliness and colour; RSS4 is the benchmark grade quoted daily by the Rubber Board. Factories make ISNR (Indian Standard Natural Rubber) block rubber, preferred by tyre makers, and centrifuged latex for gloves, balloons, foam and condoms.

Indian rubber prices follow the Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur markets, adjusted for import duty and freight. Tyre demand from the auto industry, monsoon disruption of tapping in Kerala, and labour shortages decide the domestic balance. When domestic prices fall below world prices, growers cut tapping; when they rise, imports grow.

With little new land in Kerala, the Rubber Board and tyre companies are expanding plantations in Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram, where rubber is replacing shifting cultivation on hill slopes.

Buyers, Processors and Exporters

These companies and bodies buy, process or export rubber across India, including from Kerala. Tap a name for details.

Research and Advice in Kerala

New varieties, crop advice and seed for rubber growers in Kerala come from the state agricultural universities below and from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in each district.

Check today's rubber prices in Kerala

Rubber in Other States

Tripura · Karnataka · Tamil Nadu · Assam

Related: Rubber – all India · Kerala · All crops

Names are listed for reference only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation. The About and Explore buttons open Google in a new tab; results there are generated by Google and third parties, not by this site. Prices, MSP, export rules and schemes change often. Nothing here is financial, legal or purchasing advice. Full disclaimer