India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association raises concern over natural rubber production levels

New Delhi, India – India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) is raising concerns over the delay in updating data on the production and consumption of natural rubber by the state-run Rubber Board, ATMA members have estimated natural rubber production at 225 thousand tons which is 37 percent lower than the 356-thousand-ton production figure published by Rubber Board for the corresponding period in the previous year.

Some months earlier, ATMA had said that the tire industry is facing a significant crisis and could encounter plant stoppages and disruptions due to a shortage in the domestic availability of NR. The tire industry accounts for over 70 per cent of the natural rubber consumed in the country.

According to ATMA, the state-run Rubber Board’s data on NR production for the recent period is overdue. The official month-wise NR Production Statistics, as given on the Rubber Board website, was last updated through May 2024.

ATMA has urged the Rubber Board to expedite the publication of monthly NR production and publish early estimates of NR production by the 10th of the following month.

“We trust Rubber Board will take the requisite action to revisit the mechanism of data collection and share production estimates taking into account real market dynamics in the interest of the entire value chain including the consuming interests”, said Rajiv Budhraja, Director General ATMA.

ATMA also expects the Rubber Board to suitably revise the projected NR production of 875 thousand tons for FY24-25 so as to reflect actual market arrivals.

Production planning at tire plants is intricately linked to the availability of NR, a key raw material and therefore dissemination of timely and nearly accurate data about domestic production is crucial, including for planning imports, ATMA has stated.