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Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) has expressed its concern over the gradual reduction in the availability of natural rubber which has hit the domestic tyre manufacturers. In a letter to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, ATMA has mentioned that in such a critical situation the industry has unwillingly resorted to importing of natural rubber, which is highly taxed, to meet the deficit. ATMA Director General Rajiv Budhraja has said that although the import of natural rubber is necessary to meet the domestic demand, the policy environment is highly limiting in nature as there are further challenges in getting natural rubber, in addition to the 25 percent customs duty that is currently being imposed by the government.
The domestic tyre makers have asked the government to give concessions on the import of natural rubber so that the tyre industry can breathe a sigh of relief. They are hopeful that the government will remove restrictions preventing the smooth and hassle-free import of natural rubber in India.
Rajiv Budhraja also added that the lack of timely availability of data on natural rubber is also hampering with the planning exercise at tyre industry. As it goes against the practice of releasing monthly data in the first week of next month, the production and consumption data is being released very late by the Rubber Board. As such due to this practice, the industry had no clue about the natural rubber production patterns.
According to the current figures that are released by the Rubber Board, the production has sharply declined by 16 percent in the first two months of the current fiscal year. However, consumption, on the other hand, has seen a surge of 13 percent to 2 lakh tonnes during the same period, thereby leaving a gap of 1.2 lakh tonnes, as reported by ATMA.
The body has also been trying to provide estimates for the second quarter (Q2 – 2018) production so that the tyre industry can plan imports accordingly.
