ATMA asks for policy enablers for sustained momentum in tyre exports
Notwithstanding challenges to the global economy due to recessionary conditions, rising interest rates, political turmoil and slowing of external demand, tyre exports from India continued with its growth momentum and witnessed a growth of 9% in FY23. In FY22, the growth in tyre exports from India was a significant 50%.
Indian Tyre Industry is fast integrating with global supply chains helped by the globally aligned regulatory environment in the country that has led to an increase in the addressable market for Indian manufactured tyres.
The spend on R&D by major tyre companies in India has gone up three fold from 0.5-0.6% of revenue 6-7 years ago to about 1.5% currently which compares favorably with the world average and puts India at the vanguard of cutting edge technologies aiding in exports too.
Certain roadblocks faced by the Tyre Industry domestically need to be addressed on priority to provide a fillip to the domestic production and exports. These concerns pertain to accessing Natural Rubber (NR) the key raw material in which India is vastly deficient and import is the only source to bridge the gap. Tyre industry needs to adhere to pre-import conditions for NR import against (tyre) export obligation. This makes the operations very constrictive and affects export performance.