Ban on synthetic rubber imports

At a meeting presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa it was decided to give several relief measures to the rubber industry.

It was decided to give a guaranteed price of Rs. 150 for a kilogram of smoked rubber sheets and a subsidy of Rs.20 per kilogram until the price increases to Rs.175 at the auctions, a press release from the Director Government Information said.

Exporters should register at the Rubber Development Department with details of their purchases of rubber.

The Treasury will allocate funds monthly to the Rubber Development Department to meet the expenditure on the subsidy, it said. The Government intends to extend the relief to all grades of rubber without restriction and Rs.196 million will be spent on the project.

Import of synthetic rubber has been banned and the cess on rubber was also abolished, the press release said.