Indian Truck Tyre Imports Rise Despite Restrictions

Imports of truck and bus tyres into India have risen sharply since may in spite of government restrictions. The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) reports 138,347 truck and bus tyres entered the country in August, up from 20,222 units in April. The majority of these were produced in China, the organisation adds – imports from China reached 100,772 units in August, a dramatic increase on the 9,594 tyres imported in April.

In November 2008 India’s government placed imported truck and bus radials on a ‘restricted list’, allowing these to be imported only by actual users. Accordingly, imports of these tyres fell from 68,218 units in October 2008 to 38,999 in December 2008, a decline of almost 43 per cent. From January-April, 2009 they averaged around 22,000 tyres per month.

The main reason behind the recent surge in imported truck and bus tyres is that the government is issuing more licenses. “The reprieve to the industry from no-holds-barred import of tyres, primarily from China, proved to be short-lived,” commented ATMA director general Rajiv Budhraja. “Over the past few months, government has stepped up the process of issuing the licenses. While earlier only actual users were allowed to import, now licenses are being issued for stock and sale also.”

“Since April, the imports have been rising in alarming proportions and have once again crossed the figure of 100,000 tyres in August,” he added. “We need to have effective checks in place, otherwise the imports will seriously impair growth at a time when Indian industry has been able to ride a difficult downturn.”

Last year, India was the third-largest importer of budget Chinese tyres; some seven or so years earlier, India ranked 39th on the list.