KOCHI: The domestic availability of natural rubber (NR) continues to be bleak despite the fact that NR prices are ruling at a 13-year high, the industry body of Indian tyre makers, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) stated on Tuesday.
The tyre industry accounts for over 70 per cent of the natural rubber consumed in the country.File Photo
Raising concern over the delay in updating data on the production and consumption of NR by the state-run Rubber Board, ATMA members have estimated NR production at 225 thousand tonnes which is 37 per cent lower than the 356 thousand tonne production figure published by Rubber Board for the corresponding period in the previous year.
Some months earlier, ATMA had said that the tyre industry is facing a significant crisis and could encounter plant stoppages and disruptions due to a shortage in the domestic availability of NR. The tyre industry accounts for over 70 per cent of the natural rubber consumed in the country.
According to ATMA, the state-run Rubber Board’s data on NR production for the recent period is long overdue. The official monthwise NR Production Statistics, as given on the Rubber Board website, is for the period upto May 2024- a lag of 4 months.
ATMA has urged the Rubber Board to expedite the publication of monthly NR production and publish early estimates of NR production by the 10th of the following month.
Moreover, the production figures so far published by the Rubber Board for the months of April and May need to be revisited as these don’t reflect the actual NR availability which is awfully short of published figures. Low NR availability has been linked to unprecedented harsh summer this year followed by untimely heavy rains from mid-May onwards.
“We trust Rubber Board will take the requisite action to revisit the mechanism of data collection and share production estimates taking into account real market dynamics in the interest of the entire value chain including the consuming interests”, said Rajiv Budhraja, Director General ATMA.
ATMA also expects the Rubber Board to suitably revise the projected NR production of 875 thousand tonnes for FY24-25 so as to reflect actual market arrivals.
Production planning at tyre plants is intricately linked to the availability of NR, a key raw material and therefore dissemination of timely and nearly accurate data about domestic production is crucial, including for planning imports, ATMA has stated.
