India natural rubber output falls; imports rise

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s natural rubber output in October fell 7.6 percent to 82,000 tonnes provisionally, as unseasonal rains hampered tapping limiting output, the Rubber Board said on Tuesday.

“We are in a peak production period, if climatic conditions are good, we may produce 300,000 tonnes in November-January,” said an official from Rubber Board of Kottayam.

Imports rose to 18,148 tonnes in October from 10,011 tonnes in the year-ago period as lower international prices drew buyers, the board said in a statement.  The Rubber Board said consumption of natural rubber rose to 81,500 tonnes from 77,950 tonnes in the year earlier period.

The production in major producing countries like Thailand and Indonesia also decreased due to the torrential rain, the Board said. Production in April-October period rose to 457,250 tonnes from 437,400 tonnes, while imports rose to 132,724 tonnes from 132,106 tonnes. The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) expects the supply situation to be tight in October-December as rains are expected to limit output.

The output in ANRPC member countries in 2010 is likely to rise by 5.3 percent, lower than earlier estimated 6.3 percent as heavy rains slashed yields, ANRPC added.

India’s NCDEX starts index for agri futures

MUMBAI  (Reuters) - India’s National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange on Wednesday launched a benchmark index for agricultural futures, its chief executive R. Ramaseshan, said.

“This is an initiative to include all active agricultural contracts in an index format,” Ramaseshan told reporters. The index is named Dhaanya, meaning grains, and will consists of 10 most-liquid agri futures contracts, which contributes about 75 percent of the total agri futures trade on the exchange’s platform.

NCDEX is the second biggest bourse in India in terms of turnover and focuses on agri-commodities.

The launch was done after the cabinet cleared the way for commodities exchanges to launch options on 16 October.