Say it will revive exports.
Export of tyres, which witnessed a fall of 22 per cent till July, is expected to get a breather following the new foreign trade policy (FTP) announced by the commerce ministry recently.
The FTP has an inclusion of tyres and tubes in the market-linked focus product scheme, which will aid tyre exports by making them eligible for an additional incentive of 2 per cent of the free-on-board (FoB) value of exports.
| TYRE SALES | |||
| Category | Apr-Jul ‘08-’09 | Apr-Jul ‘09-’10 | % chg |
| Car | 332,828 | 286,961 | -14 |
| Truck & Bus | 657,606 | 649,882 | -1 |
| LCV | 627,983 | 426,218 | -32 |
| Scooter | 195,001 | 118,278 | -39 |
| Motorcycle | 169,897 | 73,783 | -57 |
| Source: Atma | |||
According to the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (Atma), the apex body of tyre producers in the country, tyre exports showed a declining trend in the first four months of the current financial year, with exports coming down by 22 per cent to 1,588,393 units from 2,042,428 units reported in the same month a year ago.
JK Tyres Vice-Chairman & Managing Director and Atma Chairman Raghupati Singhania said: “Broadening the scope of FMS will encourage tyre and other manufacturing sectors to explore new and emerging markets.”
Singhania pointed out that Indian tyres have been exported to over 60 countries worldwide for more than 20 years.
The new FTP seeks to encourage exports to 13 countries — Algeria, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania, Ukraine, New Zealand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The fall in exports of tyres from India was the result of intense competition from cheap Chinese and Korean tyres in overseas markets in addition to the general fall in demand due to the mellowed economic activity across the globe.
