MMTC Aiming for 20% of Indian CV Tyre Import Market

MMTC, the Indian state run trading company, has its sights set on between 15 and 20 per cent of Indian truck tyre import market. The company plans to take its slice of the pie by importing Chinese produced cross-ply (and importantly radial tyres) into the 120,000 unit market segment from April, the Hindu Business Line reported.

The news makes MMTC the first major outfit to start importing tyres into India. According to reports, while the import market is growing and is not insignificant in size (it is said to account for 13-14 per cent of the Indian domestic truck and bus tyre market), up till now tyre imports were shared between 35-odd smaller players. Some observers are suggesting that the move could result in the establishment of an important industry lobby, which could potentially have an effect on market-wide issues like the country’s radialisation rate, currently around 5 per cent.

According to market observers, monthly truck imports have increased from approximately 85,000 to between 120,000 and 140,000 tyres during the last eight months. Here it is interesting to note that some reports suggest the share of cross-ply tyres (against total imports) has come down to less than 30 per cent following imposition of a so-called anti-dumping duty in July 2007.

There are no details of which suppliers will be involved in the import business at this stage, but a company source told Business Line: “We intend to market a bouquet of brands ensuring consistent quality in various price segments.” In addition to marketing to large fleet-owners including the state transport corporations, MTTC is reportedly planning to set up its own retail dealer network.

Plans for MMTC company to import raw materials for the tyre manufacturing sector are apparently also being negotiated.