Tyre makers seek duty-free rubber imports as domestic shortage stretches
Tyre manufacturers have urged the Centre to temporarily allow duty-free natural rubber imports, citing a domestic supply shortage and rising prices.
Tyre manufacturers have urged the Centre to temporarily allow duty-free natural rubber imports, citing a domestic supply shortage and rising prices.
Tyre manufacturers have urged the Centre to temporarily allow duty-free natural rubber imports, citing a domestic supply shortage and rising prices.
Kochi: The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) has urged the Centre to temporarily allow duty-free imports of natural rubber, citing a severe domestic supply shortage and a recent surge in prices to ₹300 per kg.
With the availability of rubber in the domestic market declining and storage costs rising sharply, the shortage is affecting tyre production, the industry body said in a letter to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
ATMA has sought the temporary exemption until the availability of rubber and prices in the domestic market return to normal levels.
India produced only 9.05 lakh tonnes of natural rubber in 2025-26, against an estimated requirement of 14.27 lakh tonnes, leaving a shortfall of nearly 37 per cent of the demand.
Even during the peak rubber-tapping season, the domestic market is not receiving adequate supplies to meet the requirements of the tyre industry, ATMA chairman Arun Mammen said.