Govt considering reducing import duty on natural rubber

Govt considering reducing import duty on natural rubber

The government today said it is considering cutting import duty on natural rubber, a long pending demand of tyre manufacturers.

"Yes, I have seen requests ... We are thinking about it," Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said when asked whether the government is considering the industry's proposal to reduce import duty on natural rubber.

At present, customs duty on natural rubber, the main raw-material for tyres, is 20 per cent, whereas the customs duty on tyres (the finished product) is 10 per cent.

The tyre industry has been demanding a reduction in import duty on natural rubber from the current 20 per cent to 7.5 per cent in view of high domestic prices, which have been ruling in the range of Rs 170-180 a kg. In the global market, prices of natural rubber (RSS-3 variety) are ruling at Rs 153.73 per kg.

According to the Rubber Board, consumption of the commodity has been increasing on account of rising production of tyres.

The production of truck and bus tyres increased by 15 per cent and 21 per cent respectively during 2009-10 over the year-ago period.

According to the Board, imports of natural rubber was estimated to fall to 70,000 tonnes in the current financial year from 1.7 lakh tonnes in the previous fiscal.

Last month, imports declined by more than half at 9,255 tonnes due to higher global prices.

In 2010-11, the consumption of the commodity was estimated at 9.78 lakh tonnes and production at 8.93 lakh tonnes.

India, after China, is the second largest consumer of natural rubber.

(business-standard.com)




Spot rubber prices rule unchanged
Our Correspondent

Kottayam, July 19

Spot rubber prices continued to rule unchanged on Monday. The market was mostly inactive as the leading Tokyo Commodity Exchange remained closed on account of Ocean Day. Sheet rubber closed flat at Rs 180a kg amidst scattered transactions.

Among other developments it is reported that more than 30,000 tonnes of imported rubber would be available in the country during August to depress prices.

FUTURES UP

Rubber futures on the NMCE shot up hitting the upper price limit in the near series on early trades. The August series finished higher at Rs 174.70 (Rs 170.44), Septemberat Rs 163.90 (Rs 160.38), October at Rs 160.20 (Rs 157.91) and November at Rs 159(Rs 161) a kg for RSS 4.

The most actively traded August 2010 contract was traded within a range of Rs 176.50 and Rs 172.25. Thetotal volume has been 10,534 lots and turnover 181.13 crores. The total open interest in all series was 5,412. RSS 3 (spot) moved up marginally to Rs 153.73 (Rs 153.02) a kg at Bangkok.

Spot rubber rates (Rs/kg) were : RSS-4: 180(180)RSS-5 : 175(175)ungraded: 170(171)ISNR 20:159(159) and latex 60 per cent 125(126)