Natural rubber (NR) imports reached an all-time high of 205,050 tonnes in 2011-12, up nine per cent over the previous financial year.
As domestic truck and bus tyre production was badly hit due to a serious shortage of quality sheet rubber (RSS-4) in the market, producers were left with no option but to import quality block rubber, to meet the demand, leading to an increase in imports.
According to experts, there was a shortage of 100,000 tonnes that affected the sector badly. The country needs 550,000 tonnes of RSS-4 grade sheet rubber annually, but the actual production was between 350,000 and 400,000 tonnes last year. Sheet rubber is essential for manufacturing radial tyres. The demand for quality sheet rubber increases by eight per cent per annum on an average, as the non-tyre sector is also shifting to higher grades of rubber to ensure quality. According to experts, there is less wastage of the raw material in case of quality sheet rubber and the quality of the finished product is superior, too.
Though radialisation is almost 100 per cent in the passenger car segment, it is only 17 per cent in the case of truck or bus radials. The main reason behind this slower shift is the poor supply of RSS-4 grade in the domestic market.
According to estimates by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (Atma), a jump in production is estimated in the truck/bus radial tyres in 2012-13. It is expected to almost double to 4.8 million tyres (24 per cent of the total truck/bus tyres), compared to the actual production of 2.67 million tyres in 2011-12. So, the requirement of quality grade rubber will obviously be high. But Indian NR growers are far behind the pace of the industry and which may lead to further rise in imports in the years ahead.
According to Rajiv Budhraja, director general, Atma, as the transportation sector needs good quality radial tyres with durability and long life, there is a huge deficit in supply, leading to imports.