The decline in rubber output will be more than 15 percent due to floods, said GP Goyal, President of Cochin Rubber Merchants' Association.

“Rubber tapping has completely stopped for last 15-20 days. Workers from Bihar and Orissa left Kerala and product sale has drastically come down,” Goyal said.

Prices have not gone up much because the import is taking place and North Indian states are getting material from Tripura, Goyal said.

"In Kerala, what we were expected to produce 6.25 lakh tonne this year, it may come down to around 5 lakh tonne,” he said.

First Published:Aug 20, 2018 1:53 PM IST