ISBN: - 978-93-88936-09-5 CHAPTER - I 1.1 INTRODUCTION Rubber plays an important role in the industrial and the economic development of the country. Rubber plantations provide the principal raw material required for the manufacturer of around 35,000 rubber products, ranging from toy balloons to tyres of giant earthmoving equipment. India is the fourth largest consumer of natural rubber. Rubber was introduced to America first. Then it was introduced to Asian and African countries in 1876. In this condition, particularly in Kerala and Kanyakumari District, rubber has been cultivated for nearly 110 years. Now in India, rubber is cultivated in 711560 ha, area and is produced from 477230 ha, area. Approximately, 1806 kg rubber is produced for one hectare area. Among this production 90 per cent of rubber is produced in Kerala alone. In Kanyakumari District, rubber is cultivated in more than 25,000 ha area, in rubber production, related works, factories, vendors and exporters are involved, directly or indirectly. Rubber has been responsible for the life of more than one crore people. Rubber is the main ingredient in the production of gloves, slippers, balloon, tyre, rubber band, rubber ball, thin rubber thread and even the artificial heart valves. Statistical data reveals that at the world level, more than 40,000 articles of a great utility value are produced from rubber. Rubber is being cultivated and produced in various countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Nigeria and Brazil. But in India, quality rubber is being produced from Kashia village, which is located at the southern tip of Kanyakumari district. In the present scenario, the development of automobile business and the growth of other types of business have increased the need of rubber. For the past few years, farmers have been very happy about the demand for rubber. The low production of synthetic rubber is due to the hike in the price of petroleum products and also the price of rubber. Rubber trees are widely grown in the states of Kerala and the adjoining Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. These are the traditional rubber growing areas of the country. Both the areas are geographically and agro-climatically suitable for rubber cultivation. Besides this, rubber is also grown in Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and other north-eastern states. In India rubber plantations spread over an area of 5.78 lakhs hectares in 16 states across the country. The production of rubber is dominated by smallholdings which account for 91 per cent of the total production and 88 per cent of the area with an average holding size 13
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