India to expand NR cultivation

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Rubber Board of India plans to expand natural rubber cultivation area in the country by an additional 200,000 hectares (nearly 495,000 acres) over the next five years.

The new plantations will be located in the country's northeast region, as the available lands in the southern state of Kerala is scarce, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.

The "northeast mission of tire industry for rubber augmentation" project is jointly promoted by the rubber board and India's Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association, said ANRPC in its latest NR report for the month of December.

The investment will involve "widespread cultivation" with a special "cold-resistant" clone developed for the climate of northeastern India.

In addition, India launched "a world's first" initiative in June last year to develop a genetically modified rubber plant which was cultivated at a rubber board research farm near Guwahati, in the northeast Indian state of Assam.

The modified rubber plant is expected to withstand severe cold weather associated with Assam, as opposed to hevea's natural rainforest habitat.