India’s rubber trade with East Asia is poised to receive a big boost with the recent visit of an Indian rubber industry delegation to Taiwan and Korea, supported by the MSME Ministry.

During the six-day visit, the delegation led by Mohinder Gupta, President, All India Rubber Industries’ Association (AIRIA), held a series of B2B meetings with rubber industry associations, visited factories and held meetings with Indian missions to explore business opportunities.

The delegation met the Taiwan Rubber and Elastomer Industries’ Association (TREIA), the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei, India-Taipei Association, Korea Rubber Industry Association (KRIA), Korea Importers’ Association (KOIMA), Indian embassy in Korea, manufacturers of rubber products and rubber machinery and other relevant organisations.

According to Gupta, the delegation had fruitful meetings with the rubber products manufacturers, machinery manufacturers, R&D centres, testing equipment manufacturers, end-users, number of agencies and trading companies.

“We need to develop close synergies between the Indian rubber industry and the industry in Taiwan and Korea to enable the development of international brands by sourcing better technology and R&D,” he added.

India's trade in rubber products with South Korea and Taiwan is skewed in favour of the East Asian countries. While imports under Chapter 40 (rubbers and articles thereof) from South Korea was to the tune of $298.24 million in 2015-16, exports from India paled in comparison at just $11.83 million. Similarly, in the case of Taiwan, exports of rubber products stood at just $4.5 million while imports were $33.34 million.

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