Scenario of rubber production in North East India

Abstract

Natural rubber production in India is gaining importance due to the fastest growing rubber industries across the world. India is one of the largest producers of natural rubber and second largest consumer. The traditional rubber cultivating regions of India are Kerala and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu. The rest of the areas are non-traditional like Karnataka, Goa, Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and North Eastern state like Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Tripura is considered as the second rubber capital of India, after Kerala. On the other hand Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur, the other rubber producing states in the region, have also witnessed notable growth in rubber production. It has proved that with appropriate agro-management practices natural rubber can be grown as an economically viable crop in north east India. Rubber planting is an effective programme which helps in socio-economic development of the rural people.