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Govt not to procure rubber, but to fix MSP

The State Trading Corporation would not procure rubber from the market, but the government would soon announce a minimum statutory price for the commodity to ensure that the growers get a remunerative price.

"As the domestic prices are on the whole keeping low there is no need for the STC to procure rubber for supplying to the manufacturers, instead the MSP to be fixed shortly will take care of both the buyers' and growers' interests," official sources said.

The MSP was being fixed only to ensure that the prices do not plunge abnormally low and harm the interest of the planters.

The MSP fixation was not for the government to procure rubber at pre-decided rates as happened in the case of foodgrains, they added.

Free trade would continue as earlier, but not below the price fixed by the government which it would decide under the provisions of the Rubber Act.

If the manufacturers of rubber products felt it was more cost-effective to import the commodity, they could do so under schemes like Duty Entitlement Pass Book.

Since it was a freely tradable commodity under the Open General Licence, there were no restrictions on importers sources said.

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