KOCHI: The tyre industry has said fall in natural rubber imports should be linked to increased domestic availability of the commodity proving its claim that consumers went for imports when the supply was tight.
Recently Rubber Board had released fresh data for the financial year 2016-17 that showed NR imports declining by 7% as production moved up by 22% during the year.
Satish Sharma, chairman Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) said: “With improving availability of natural rubber in domestic markets, there is a perceptible drop in NR import. That lends credence to the industry’s position that NR imports are taking place to meet the domestic deficiency or in view of non-availability of certain grades of rubber on quality parameters.”
Responding to the claim that NR imports were down in view of domestic prices ruling lower than international prices, ATMA stated that even when the domestic NR prices were ruling 20% higher than international prices, domestic production was getting fully consumed by the industry with hardly any exports. That reaffirms the contention of NR consuming interests that there is acute deficit of NR in the country.
“Tyre industry is all for a vibrant domestic NR sector and has shown its commitment by aligning with Rubber Board in various measures aimed at increasing productivity and quality of domestic rubber. It is time different stakeholders chart out a strategy so that industry gets access to quality rubber at competitive prices while NR growers get adequately compensated”, added Sharma.
