The rubber consuming industries, represented by the All-India Rubber Industries Association and the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association, want the Rubber Board to stop random inspection of imported natural rubber. This is in view of the delay in clearing consignments affecting the entire production process.

In a communication to the Union Government, the consuming industries have said that due to high natural rubber prices, rubber consuming companies import natural rubber in quantities just sufficient to meet the current requirements, the practice being part of prudent stock management.

But they pointed out that any delay in clearance of imported consignments would disrupt the entire production process and could lead to delays in honouring their export commitments. However, the consuming industries were also quick to point out that the rejection rate of imported rubber on quality grounds by Rubber Board officials was less than 1 per cent.

The provision of random inspection of imported rubber by the Rubber Board was introduced in December 2004 to check if the imported rubber met the quality requirements.

Voicing similar sentiments, Mr N Radhakrishnan, Advisor to the Cochin Rubber Merchants Association, said that the decision of inspection of imports should be left to the importer. He said that it would be more prudent for the Government to insist that export consignments should mandatorily be inspected by internationally-accredited agencies based in the country of export and need not be subjected to further inspection in India.

Validating his argument against a second inspection, Mr Radhakrishnan said that natural rubber is a raw material and not an item for human consumption. It was also highlighted that natural rubber is not an end-product. It is instead a raw material which has to go through a long process of manufacturing to make end-products, which again are not meant for human consumption.

Hence, it is important that quality standards are followed for the finished products and not for the raw materials, the communication to the Government pointed out.

The industries also said with the high prices prevailing for natural rubber, industries can ill-afford to buy natural rubber which does not meet the quality requirements as that would be a drain on their financial resources. Consequently, user industries are extra-cautious that the imported rubber is of high quality. The mandatory Indian quality certification — like BIS/ISI — makes quality marking of natural products redundant, the consuming industries argued.

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