Import Restrictions A Huge Sentiment Booster For The Industry – ATMA

Tyre Industry in India is completely aligned to the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision of "Make in India" and "Self-reliant India”. Much-needed restrictions on import of tyres will pave the way for increased domestic production and export of tyres from the country besides unlocking job creation potential, the Tyre Industry captains shared with  Mr Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India in a video conferencing session .

“The recent move to put import of tyres on the restricted list is a testimony to Government’s confidence in domestic manufacturing capabilities. The move has come as a huge sentiment booster for the industry that has been bearing the brunt of slowdown in the Auto sector and disruption caused by Covid-19 pandemic.  Emboldened by the development, the Tyre Industry in India is looking at better than expected domestic production and increased exports from the country, stated Mr K M Mammen, Chairman Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA).

Indiscriminate import of tyres has been the bane of the Tyre Industry in India. According to data from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India, in FY19, tyres worth US$ 429 million were imported in India. Even in the first 11 months of FY20, a year that witnessed economic slowdown in India and hence reduced demand, tyres worth US$385 million landed in India.

Most of the import of tyres is from China. Both in case of Truck & Bus Radial (TBR) tyres and Passenger Car Radial (PCR) tyres, China accounts for over 40% of overall import. In case of Tractor tyres, Chinese import is three-fourths of total import.

“Domestic manufacturing capacity is ahead of the demand curve and India is self-sufficient in manufacturing practically all kinds of tyres including tyres for critical applications like fighter jets. Most of the imports are unwarranted and have been hurting capacity utilization in domestic manufacturing”, added Mr Mammen.

Thanking the Rubber Board for aligning with the industry in seeking import restrictions on tyres, Mr Mammen said, it goes without saying that import restrictions on tyres will benefit the entire value chain. The demand for domestic Natural Rubber (NR) will go up as the domestic tyre production will get a fillip.

According to ATMA, indirect import of NR through tyre imports has been hurting the interests of NR growers. For instance, import of each unit of Truck & Bus tyres represents 25 kg of indirect import of NR in the country.