Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao seeks MSP for rubber, writes to Centre

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Feb 15, 2026: Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Dakshina Kannada District In-Charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has urged the Centre to introduce a minimum support price (MSP) for natural rubber, citing severe distress among growers due to market volatility.

In letters to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Rao argued that rubber cultivation involves arduous farm labour and should be assessed on production costs rather than end-use as an industrial raw material. He sought inclusion of natural rubber in the list of mandated agricultural crops for MSP and requested the Agriculture Ministry to forward its recommendation to the Commerce Ministry.

Rao said thousands of families, particularly in Dakshina Kannada, depend on rubber cultivation and are facing penury due to price instability. He noted that while crops like jute and copra receive MSP, natural rubber remains excluded as it is not among the 22 mandated crops recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

Citing a July 30, 2024 Lok Sabha reply, Rao said the Centre had maintained that natural rubber is not an agricultural product as it is used exclusively for industrial purposes. He added that the National Rubber Policy (2019) has not delivered desired outcomes due to issues such as cheaper imports, weak marketing and limited research support. As the Rubber Board of India functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Rao said only the Union government can resolve the MSP issue.

In his response, Goyal reiterated that MSP is fixed for 22 crops based on CACP recommendations and that natural rubber is not included. He said the Centre is implementing the “Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector” scheme through the Rubber Board, with the outlay raised by 23% to ₹708.69 crore for 2024–26, to support planting, replanting, research and productivity improvements.