Despite Factory Plans, Indonesian Tyre Makers Remain Confident on Egypt Exports

Indonesian tyre exports hold a market share of around 30 per cent in Egypt, and according to the Jakarta Post, tyre makers have retained their confidence about this market despite the announcement of plans late last year to refurbish an idle plant their and turn it into the Middle East’s largest tyre manufacturer.

“I’ve heard that the Egypt company plans to invest US$109 million,” commented Indonesian Tire Association (APBI) chairman Aziz Pane. “That won’t be sufficient to revamp the entire manufacturing facilities in the idle plant,” he added, referring to the factory’s ability to compete with the Indonesian imports. If Aziz’s calculations are correct, the $109 million set aside for the plant would only be able to set it up to deliver a maximum of 600 tyre a day, or 219,000 per annum.

“If they want to compete with us, it would require at least around $200 million to $300 million in investment, to produce 1,500 tyres a day, with a good quality,” he noted. Egyptian state news agency MENA, however, reported in November that the plant, to be established in El-Amerya, west of Alexandria, will have a capacity of 1.5 million tyres per annum.

Exports of Indonesian tyres to Egypt, the Jakarta Post comments, were worth around $85 million in 2009, but from approximately $70 million in 2007. Tyres from Indonesia rank third in volume after Chinese and Indian tyres.