AIKS criticises govt move to cut import tariff on rubber

AIKS criticises govt move to cut import tariff on rubber
Posted: 23 Aug 2010 10:28 PM PDT
NEW DELHI: A CPI-M backed farmers body, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), today condemned the government's move of reducing import tariff on natural rubber from 20 per cent to 7.5 per cent, describing it as "anti-farmer".

In a statement issued here, the organisation said, "This move is going to lead to dumping of cheap natural rubber from the ASEAN countries. This will have a cascading effect on the prices of natural rubber and the prices in the domestic market will fall drastically."

Seeking that the retrograde move be immediately scrapped and steps be taken to reinstate restrictions on dumping of rubber in the Indian market, the body called upon the farmers to protest against this move.

"AIKS will unleash protests against this anti-farmer move," the statement said.

The farmers' body said that instead of increasing import tariffs and restricting import of natural rubber, the Government has resorted to cutting it drastically only to please the tyre manufacturers lobby and big players in the automobile industry.

"This step will intensify the acute agrarian crisis in the major rubber growing states and put the lives of lakhs of farmers in peril," it added.

The farmers' body further said that the decision would affect the livelihoods of lakhs of rubber growers, especially in Kerala, which produces 90 per cent of rubber in India, as well as other such states.

AIKS said that this cut must also be seen in the context of the India-ASEAN FTA and the Congress-led UPA government's claims of protecting the farmers' interests.

"The Centre had willfully misled and betrayed the farmers' interests by claiming that rubber had been put in the exclusion list. This exposes their double-speak and hollowness of their claims that the India-ASEAN FTA would not affect Indian farmers adversely," it said.

(economictimes.indiatimes.com)


Spot rubber firms up on covering purchases


Kottayam, Aug 24

Spot rubber prices improved on Tuesday. Covering purchases at lower levels kept the market firm after three day's fall from Rs 184/kg for sheet rubber. The grade recovered to Rs 173 from Rs 170/kg on supply concerns. The trend was mixed.

Import sops opposed

“It is unfortunate that the Ministry has rejected the recommendations of the Rubber Board and ordered for import of 1,00,000 tonnes giving concessions. This is highly detrimental to the interests of the rubber growers in the country,” Mr George Waly President of the Indian Rubber Dealers Federation, told Business Line.

“It will have serious repercussions to the rubber planting sector as a whole in the country, he said.” In futures, the September series improved to Rs 172.39 (169.93), October to Rs 167.2 (165.17), November to Rs 165.8 (164.33) and December to Rs 166.03 (165)/kg for RSS 4 on the National Multi Commodity Exchange. The August futures for RSS 3 slipped to ¥328.2/Rs 182.69 (¥328.5)/kg during the day session but improved to ¥330 (Rs 183.67) during the night session on Tokyo Commodity Exchange . RSS 3 (spot) improved to Rs 156.56 (156.27)/kg at Bangkok.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 173 (170); RSS-5: 163.5 (161); ungraded: 157.5 (156); ISNR 20: 150 (150) and latex 60 per cent: 112 (111).


Rubber import duty cut: P.C. Thomas alleges corruption

Staff Reporter
KOTTAYAM: Kerala Congress (Thomas) chairman P.C. Thomas has alleged massive corruption in the Union government's decision to reduce the import duty on natural rubber from 20 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Thomas termed the move ‘unjust' and ‘anti-farmer.' He alleged that it was influenced by a lobby of tyre manufacturers. Calling for an immediate review of the decision, Mr. Thomas said the majority of the farmers affected would be from the State.

He alleged that the move, ignoring even the recommendations of the Rubber Board to the contrary, smacked of corruption. He said the Union government had earlier given an undertaking in the Delhi High Court that internal production of natural rubber could meet 94 per cent of the country's consumption needs.

As part of the protests, party workers will take out torchlight processions in all Assembly segments in Central Kerala on Thursday.

The State leadership of the party will hold a mass fast in front of the Raj Bhavan on September 9. E.P. Mathew, general secretary, and T.O. Abraham, treasurer, were present at the press conference.(The Hindu)



Cheap Chinese Tyres May Flood Indian Markets


August 24: Like most electronic appliances, China made tyres too, could soon be available in Indian domestic market. In an unprecedented move the commerce ministry has accepted to review an export application from a Chinese radial bus and truck tyre exporter from China, thus, giving hope to over 300 Chinese tyre companies waiting to tap the Indian market.
NDTV has learnt from sources that Wei Fang Huadong Rubber Co Ltd had filed an application to export radial tyres to India. They have the capacity to export 10,000 tyres every month, much more than the average 2500 tyres capacity in the domestic market. Wei Fang Huadong Rubber Co also plans to sell it in the Indian market for at least $49 cheaper than the domestic manufacturers.
The Chinese company's lawyer refused to comment saying: Due to attorney-client confidentiality, we cannot respond to your queries. Also, we will not respond to market speculation."
It is the domestic industry that will be the worst impacted with rubber prices expected to go up and their repeated requests to the government to allow zero duty imports to access cheap Chinese tyres being shot down by the ministry. It will be damning for the industry and will have long standing repercussions for the industry," Ravi Budhhiraja of Tyres Manufacturers Association said.
The radial bus and truck industry in India has investments worth Rs. 120 billion in the pipeline and all are geared at ramping up production in the bus and truck segment. The segment may take a direct hit if the government allows Chinese exports without allowing the domestic industry to outsource from China.

Source: ANRPC quoting NDTV Profit, India.




India may cut rubber import tax this week


MUMBAI (Commodity Online): India is likely to cut an import tax on natural rubber this week as bulk consumers are facing a shortage of the raw material.

The decision to cut the import tax on will be taken only after assessing the extent of the shortfall this week, but a formal notification may take some time, said the trade ministry official, who didn't want to be named.

Two senior trade officials from Kerala, the country's largest producing state, said the government may cut the import tax on natural rubber to 7.5%, in line with tire makers' demands.

Tire makers account for more than 60% of India's total natural rubber consumption and have been under pressure because of high domestic prices. But the lower tax rate may be limited initially to only 100,000 metric tons of natural rubber imports.

Earlier this month, Junior Finance Minister S.S. Palanimanickam told Parliament the government was considering allowing limited natural rubber imports at a lower tax. A cut in the import tax by India, the world's second-largest consumer, will help local tire makers take advantage of lower global prices and import more from major producers such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

An industry estimate has put the local shortfall at more than150, 000 tons in the fiscal year that started April 1, while the state run Rubber Board has pegged the deficit at 85,000 tons.

The country expects to produce 893, tons in 2010-11. Local prices have exceeded the global level for the most part in the past one one-and-a-half years due to higher vehicle sales, prompting tire makers to lobby for the lower import tax.