Kolkata, Jan 12 (IANS) The price of natural rubber is likely to come down by around Rs.15 a kg in the near future due to a slump in demand from tyre companies, M.F. Vohra, president, All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), said here Monday.”The price may down from the present Rs.70-72 per kg to Rs.55-60 per kg as demand from tyre companies has fallen,” Vohra told reporters on the sideline of a press meet to announce India Rubber Expo 2009.

He expects the prices to fall by January end or February beginning.

AIRIA is an apex body of rubber industries - both tyre and non-tyre sectors and also of traders dealing in raw rubber, chemicals and other raw materials.

Vohra said efforts to form cartels by the rubber planters wouldn’t be of much effect on the prices.

“There has been a real slowdown in the rubber user industries including tyre where demand for rubber has fallen by about 30 percent during the last three months,” he said.

AIRIA sees natural rubber output rise to about 895,000 tonnes in 2008-09 against an earlier industry estimate of 875,000 tonnes.

The total volume of rubber manufactured products exported last fiscal was to the tune of $1.2 billion. Vohra said he expects a growth of 12 percent in the current financial year over last fiscal.

Manufactured rubber products are usually exported to countries like, US, Germany, Britain, Italy, Netherlands, etc.

Asked how much the industry is impacted by the global economic meltdown, Vohra said: “We will be the biggest beneficiary of this meltdown as we see manufacturing facilities relocating to India and other low cost destinations from Europe and elsewhere.”

“CAPEXIL has been trying to persuade manufacturers in developing countries to shift their plant and machineries to India and we have already achieved some degree of success,” he said.

CAPEXIL is a business support organisation for promotion of export from India.

The total area under rubber cultivation in northeast India is 30,000 hectare now, which AIRIA expects to grow to 100,000 hectare within five years, Vohra said.