New Delhi, March 11 (FN Bureau) Facing surge in raw material prices, All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) which primarily represents tiny and micro units has appealed the government to cut import duty on synthetic rubber. The trade body with about 1,200 members having annual turnover in the range of Rs 1 crore to Rs 50 crore has urged the government to also consider removing anti-dumping duty on synthetic rubber used by them as raw material. Speaking to UNI, Shashi Kumar Singh, Senior Vice President at All India Rubber Industries Association said that EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) synthetic rubber price has increased four-fold all most to $ 4,000 per metric tonne from the pre-Covid level of about $ 1,200-1,800 per metric tonne.
He said that carbon black price has doubled from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 120 per kg squeezing the margins of the rubber-based units. “Our demand is minimum import duty or duty-free synthetic rubber which is not manufactured in India. For carbon black, exports can be restricted to control surge in prices,” suggested Singh. Elaborating on the hardships faced by the industry, the AIRIA executive said that the industry is facing numerous challenges related to technology upgrade, infrastructure and access to institutional credit. He said that most units rely on unsecured loans from friends and relatives to meet working capital requirements as bank credit is difficult to obtain given the poor documentation practices. The All India Rubber Industries Association members generally supply their products to automotive industry, white goods and construction sector among others. But delayed payment is a key feature as it is the case across MSME space. Getting price revision from buyers is another challenge. “Generally we supply to automotive industry where getting price increase is very difficult,” said AIRIA’s Singh who is also Director at Osaka Rubber (P) Ltd.