The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) has urged the government to allow free imports of natural rubber to the extent of a projected demand-supply gap of 4.4 lakh tonnes. ATMA citing Rubber Board of India figures said the domestic deficit for FY'22, which was projected to be 45 per cent of the production at 3.4 lakh metric tonnes (MT) in the beginning of the year, is now projected to balloon to 55 per cent of production at a 'massive' 4.4 lakh MT.
ATMA said 'Severe crunch in the availability of NR (natural rubber) is adversely disrupting the production processes at tyre manufacturing units even as the demand for tyres is peaking.' Stating that scarcity of NR at the height of peak production season in Kerala is unprecedented, ATMA said it doesn't augur well for the tyre industry value chain.
It added ‘as against the average domestic production in the range of 75,000 MT each in the months of October and November, the same is not expected to exceed 45,000-50,000 MT each in October and November of the current year’. On the other hand, consumption is expected to remain at over 1 lakh MT each in these two months, with a resultant deficit of 1 lakh MT in a short span of two months of the ongoing peak production season leading to major concern for tyre industry that consumes nearly 75 per cent of total NR produced in the country.
ATMA said ‘with a view to ensure that tyre production and exports take place in an uninterrupted manner, duty free imports of NR need to be allowed to the extent of projected demand supply gap in the country, i.e. 4.4 lakh MT’. It added the duty free import volumes can be reviewed every year, as Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) quantity, in accordance with production, consumption estimates put up by the Rubber Board. It also said ‘As and when domestic availability has improved, NR import by tyre industry has been scaled down’.