Rubber output dips 16% in Feb, tyre industry urges for relaxed import curbs

The tyre industry said a lean production period had already started, to last till September. This will add to the industry's problems

Natural rubber (NR) production in India dropped 16 per cent in February. The tyre industry, which consumes nearly 70 per cent of the produce, has urged the government to relax import curbs.

Rubber Board data shows NR production in February at 52,000 tonnes, as against 62,000 tonnes in 2017. NR consumption in India crossed a million tonnes (1,003,060 tonnes) in the first 11 months of 2017-18, a first. Production was 640,000 tonnes in the period, leaving a consumption gap of 360,000 tonnes.

The tyre industry said a lean production period had already started, to last till September. This will add