The Hindu Business Line : ‘Egypt’s dumping duty on truck, bus tyres to have little impact’

Dumping issues
The incidence of anti-dumping is likely to be at nearly 40-45 per cent of the existing landing price of Indian truck-bus tyres.
India also sources cross-ply tyres from China for exports to Egypt, which may be now curbed by the recent anti-dumping duty.

Pratim Ranjan Bose

Kolkata, March 10 Imposition of anti-dumping duty may curb India’s export of cross-ply (BIAS) truck-bus tyres to Egypt in the next fiscal. The Indian tyre majors, however, feel that the impact will not be significant and quantities can easily be diverted to other importing nations.

Talking to Business Line, MRF official sources said that the company was not expecting any major impact as its exports to Egypt was less than five per cent of its total export basket. Apollo Tyre was also not expecting any significant impact.

JK Tyre, a major player in the export market, says that Egypt contributes merely six per cent of its export turnover of Rs 500 crore. “For us North and Central America, South East and West Asia are much bigger markets contributing almost 70-75 per cent of the total exports,” a JK Tyre official said.

Ceat is a major exporter of light commercial vehicle tyres to the African country and claims to be “least affected” due to imposition of anti-dumping duty on truck-bus tyres.

The company’s total exports in 2007-08 have crossed the Rs 550-crore mark.

While all the companies are waiting for the official communication before taking a final view, unconfirmed sources put the incidence of anti-dumping at nearly 40-45 per cent of the existing landing price of Indian truck-bus tyres in Egypt.

“We are told that the incidence of duty is enough to put a full stop to Indian exports of cross ply truck bus tyres to Egypt,” a senior official in an Indian tyre major told Business Line.

Based on petitions filed by domestic manufacturers, Egypt has imposed the anti-dumping duty on truck-bus tyres of Indian and Chinese origin on Saturday.

China sourcing

Interestingly, India also sources cross-ply tyres from China for exports to Egypt, which may be now curbed by the recent anti-dumping duty.

According to Mr Rajiv Budhiraja, Secretary General of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), the export of Indian tyres has grown by 20 per cent in the first nine months of this fiscal. In volume terms the growth was 16 per cent. Bulk of the export cargo constitutes truck bus tyres.

“Imports have also increased significantly and was as high as approximately one lakh truck bus tyres a month during April-July period,” Mr Budhiraja adds.

This is irrespective of imposition of anti-dumping duty on cross-ply imports. Import of passenger car tyres was 1.2 lakh a month.

According to All India Tyre Dealers Federation (AITDF), which contested the anti-dumping petition filed by the producers, India now imports approximately 1.4 lakh truck-bus tyres (mostly radial) a month and is set to rise further.

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