每日吃瓜

Ever since liberalisation, the Indian tyre industry has shown its mettle and has progressed rather rapidly against all odds. The industry has put in place an unprecedented investment of Rs 20,000 crore in expansion and technology upgradation over the next few years. The Indian tyre industry is amongst the few sectors of industry which are self-sufficient and have been ahead of the demand curve. However, as per reports, China's tyre industry is estimated to witness a rapid ten per cent CAGR until 2020. Leading Chinese tyre companies are sprucing up technology and scale to meet global norms. Is it going to negatively impact the Indian industry and its export capabilities?

Rajiv Budhraja, Director General, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association says, "Yes, China's impact will be felt if the Indian industry continues to be deprived of a level playing field with its Chinese counterparts. Chinese tyre companies are able to source raw material at a much lower cost. The export incentivisation policy by the Chinese government is another advantage that Chinese manufacturers have been enjoying. There has been large-scale dumping of cheap tyres in India through unfair means adopted by certain independent importers such as under-invoicing. If all these issues are sorted out, India's manufacturing prowess in tyre manufacturing will be on stronger display."

Says Karun Sanghi, Managing Director, Tyresoles India, "As Chinese companies improve their product quality, the competition in the new tyre business will increase. However, this will have very little impact on the retreading industry." He further adds, "We estimate the retreading market in India should be about Rs 5,000 crore per year. However, this market is extremely fragmented. An average retreader does 200-300 tyres per month or 2,500 -3,500 tyres per year. This comes to sales of Rs 1-1.5 crore. So an average retreader has a market share of about 0.02 per cent."

Driven by concerns of environment, industry initiatives, demand from the customers and government legislation, there is greater awareness today for the need to move in the direction of green tyres. This shift will start from the passenger segment and subsequently encompass commercial, farm and OTR segments. Speaking on the move towards alternative source for natural rubber, Dilip M Vaidya, Technical Director, BKT says, "Synthetic rubber can only partially be replaced as the specific properties like, heat build-up, dynamic properties, green strength of synthetic rubber cannot match natural rubber's properties. As far as new development is concerned, research work is proceeding on two other alternatives: Guayule rubber and Dandelion rubber, which are the potential replacement of conventional natural rubber."

OTR tyres have huge potential but the current economic conditions indicate a moderate growth this year. Currently, the demand is weak as the major demand drivers-infrastructure growth, mining activities and overall economic growth-are not showing a favourable trend. The mining sector slowdown has impacted this segment in a big way. It's very difficult to forecast a revival as of now until unless the government takes some tough decisions and puts in place a clear and transparent policy framework for the sector.