Bowing to pressure from Kerala's rubber growers, the government has placed further restrictions on the import of natural rubber into the country by allowing import of the commodity only through two designated ports _ Kolkata and Vishakapatnam.
Also, the registration of natural rubber importers with the state-run Rubber Board has been made mandatory.
"This is consistent with the present arrangement under which all rubber goods manufacturers as well as dealers have to register themselves with the Rubber Board as provided under Section 14 of the Rubber Act," commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran said.
However, the tyre industry which is one of the major consumers of rubber say this move will not restrict imports.
D Ravindran, director general of Automative Tyre Manufacturers Association said: "Despite increasing the cost of tyre manufacturing, this move will not control imports. While Indian rubber is priced at Rs 32,000 per tonne, the imported one costs Rs 24,000 per tonne only, making imports more attractive."
Restricting imports to the two ports would mean an increase in the transportation cost as earlier the industries used to import through ports located nearer to their factories, he added.
In a statement issued by the commerce and industry ministry, the minister said conformity with the BIS quality standards for imported natural rubber, as in the case of domestic rubber, has also been made mandatory.
