Kerala Karshaka Sangam (affiliated to AIKS), oraganised Rajbhawan March and Dharna in Trivandrum against the central government's move of reducing import tariff on natural rubber from 20 per cent to 7.5 per cent. The dharna was inaugurated by Com E P Jayarajan Central Committe Member CPIM and state president of Kerala Karshaka Sangam. The Dharna continued till 5 pm in the evening
This move is going to lead to dumping of cheap natural rubber from the ASEAN countries. This will have a cascading effect on the prices of natural rubber and the prices in the domestic market will fall drastically. Seeking that the retrograde move be immediately scrapped and steps be taken to reinstate restrictions on dumping of rubber in the Indian market, the body called upon the farmers to protest against this move. The leaders added that "AIKS will unleash protests against this anti-farmer move,"
The farmers' body said that instead of increasing import tariffs and restricting import of natural rubber, the Government has resorted to cutting it drastically only to please the tyre manufacturers lobby and big players in the automobile industry. "This step will intensify the acute agrarian crisis in the major rubber growing states and put the lives of lakhs of farmers in peril,"
The leaders said that the decision would affect the livelihoods of lakhs of rubber growers, especially in Kerala, which produces 90 per cent of rubber in India, as well as other such states. This cut must also be seen in the context of the India-ASEAN FTA and the Congress-led UPA government's claims of protecting the farmers' interests. The Centre had willfully misled and betrayed the farmers' interests by claiming that rubber had been put in the exclusion list. This exposes their double-speak and hollowness of their claims that the India-ASEAN FTA would not affect Indian farmers adversely.
This move is going to lead to dumping of cheap natural rubber from the ASEAN countries. This will have a cascading effect on the prices of natural rubber and the prices in the domestic market will fall drastically. Seeking that the retrograde move be immediately scrapped and steps be taken to reinstate restrictions on dumping of rubber in the Indian market, the body called upon the farmers to protest against this move. The leaders added that "AIKS will unleash protests against this anti-farmer move,"
The farmers' body said that instead of increasing import tariffs and restricting import of natural rubber, the Government has resorted to cutting it drastically only to please the tyre manufacturers lobby and big players in the automobile industry. "This step will intensify the acute agrarian crisis in the major rubber growing states and put the lives of lakhs of farmers in peril,"
The leaders said that the decision would affect the livelihoods of lakhs of rubber growers, especially in Kerala, which produces 90 per cent of rubber in India, as well as other such states. This cut must also be seen in the context of the India-ASEAN FTA and the Congress-led UPA government's claims of protecting the farmers' interests. The Centre had willfully misled and betrayed the farmers' interests by claiming that rubber had been put in the exclusion list. This exposes their double-speak and hollowness of their claims that the India-ASEAN FTA would not affect Indian farmers adversely.
