Natural rubber (NR) imports declined 50 per cent in October compared with the same month last year. The imports fell to 8,574 tonnes against 16,010 tonnes in October last year.
Till September, imports were on a rise due to a sharp increase in the local prices of the commodity . The international prices of RSS-3 grade were lower than the Indian prices, the difference being around Rs 17-18 a kg. This encouraged importers to utilise the price advantage.
The rubber-based industry, especially tyre makers, also reaped the benefits of the global price advantage, leading to a rise in imports in the first half. This sharp rise in imports led to an increase in the rubber stock in India. By the end of October, the country possessed 219,000 tonnes of rubber as against 150,000 tonnes in the same period last year.
At present, the price situation is in a reverse mode as the international prices are higher by Rs 7-8 a kg compared with the local prices. So, the imports have become unviable.
The cumulative imports during April-October increased to 126,472 tonnes from 54,283 tonnes in the same period last year. Meanwhile, exports from the country have shown signs of improvement in October as 1,239 tonnes were exported. This was 401 tonnes in September this year and nil in July and August.