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2.21 On the contrary in Kerala in the last one decade, there has been a continuous and considerable AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED SECTORS
decline in both area under cultivation as well as production of cashew. Its alarming to note that the
production which stood at 60 thousand MT in 2004-05 declined to 37.9 thousand MT in 2012-13 and
to 33.3 thousand MT in 2013-14. While area dwindled from 81 thousand hectares to 52 thousand
hectares and to 49thousand hectares during the same period Productivity of the crop which was
around 900kg per hectare during the late eighties also dwindled to 680 kg per hectare in 2013-14
Details are given in Appendix 2.9.

2.22 Area and production are increasing steadily in other producing states in the country. Eventhough
the major share of area under cashew comes from Andhra Pradesh (18.3%), Maharashtra is the
leading producer with 32.9 percent share in production during 2013-14 whose share was only 10
per cent in 1990-91.

Plantation crops

2.23 Plantation crops in general are either export oriented or import substituting and therefore assume
special significance from the national point of view. It is estimated that nearly 14 lakh families are
dependent on the plantation sector for livelihood. Each of the four plantation crops of South India
has its distinct characteristics and economic problems. Consequent to the removal of quantitative
restrictions on import, plantation crops in general are facing the threat of low quality imports.

2.24 Kerala has a substantial share in the four plantation crops of rubber, tea, coffee and cardamom.
These four crops together occupy 7.04 lakh ha, accounting for 26.88 percent of the gross cropped
area in the state. Kerala’s share in the national production of rubber is 72.02 per cent, coffee is 22
per cent and 6.3 percent in tea during the year 2013-14. Details are given in Appendix 2.10.

Rubber

2.25 India produced only 8.44 lakh tonnes of natural rubber (NR) during the year 2013-14, significantly
lower by 69.7 thousand tonnes from 9.13 lakh tonnes in the previous year.The severe summer in
Kerala during April and May 2013, interruption of tapping caused by unusually continuous monsoon
and loss in yield due to leaf diseases contributed to the severe fall in production. Moreover, low rubber
prices and high wages have compelled small holders to reduce application of inputs and adoption of
recommended farm management practices. Consequently, the average yield measured in terms of
production per hectare of yielding area declined during the year to 1629 kg from the previous year
1813 kg . Although yielding area expanded during the year by 14000 ha it could not fully offset the
decline in production resulted from the low average yield. The consumption of natural rubber though
sluggish was higher than previous year. As a result India imported 325.2 thousand tonnes of natural
rubber during 2013-14 significantly higher than 217.4 thousand tonnes in the previous year. It was
not different in Kerala also, as the total production dwindled from 798940 MT in 2012-13 to 648220
MT in 2013-14 despite an increase in area of 1.6 per cent in 2013-14.

Details are given in Appendix 2.11 to 2.13.

2.26 With regard to rubber prices, it has been volatile in both the national and international markets.
Driven by concerns about domestic availability of NR against the backdrop of the unusually severe
monsoon rains in Kerala , the domestic market (RSS 4 at Kottayam )sharply rose from ` 167.5 per
kg at the beginning of the year (1 April, 2013 to touch ` 196.0 per kg in mid July 2013 with short lived
dips in between . However prices fell sharply beginning from mid August 2013 to hit ` 142 per kg
on 30 January 2014. After a marginal recovery, it ruled around ` 150 per kg by 31 March 2014.Also
its interesting to note that the domestic market ruled above the international markets throughout the
year with very few exceptions.

Economic Review 2014