Tyre industry sees spike in Thai imports

The Indian tyre market has seen a spurt in imports from Thailand after the imposition of counter-vailing duty (CVD) on tyres from China, said a senior official of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA).

“Earlier import of tyres from China was a major factor for the domestic manufacturers. But now Chinese tyre makers are routing their products through Thailand. We see a spike in tyre imports from Thailand,” Rajiv Budhraja, Director General, ATMA, said. “The trade war between the US and China has forced the latter to go aggressive in other markets.”

Last fiscal, the import of truck/bus radial (TBR) tyres from Thailand stood at 267,087 units, accounting for 57% of the total imports, up from 126,666 units or 15% of imports in 2017-18, Budhraja said.

For motorcycle tyres, imports from Thailand last year were 183,602 units (9% of imports) against 102,378 units (5% of imports) in 2017. Budhraja said growth momentum has slowed and lower automobiles sales have affected tyre companies. Stressing that a continued slowdown in the vehicle sector will impact greenfield investments in the tyre industry, Budhraja said the replacement market is not bright as transporters are not coming for tyre replacement as they did earlier. The industry had expected demand to pick up for farm sector vehicles like tractors after a good monsoon, but it did not happen.

“I will not call it a fall into a bottom-less pit. We are nearing the close end of the pit. The uncertainty relating to the political situation and the migration from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norm vehichles are now over. The government should now focus on taking the economy on the growth path,” Budhraja said. As earlier, he said, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the government should not only address urban mobility, but also the last mile connectivity in case of goods transport. “The government should look at scrappage policy now,” Budhraja added.