The tile industry has asked the Centre to impose antidumping duties on Chinese tiles, the cheaper imports of which in larger sizes are hitting the prospects of the domestic industry.

The import of these tiles has been rampant in port towns such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta and Kochi. “Today the practice has been mainly concentrated through port cities, but it will soon spread and can reach out to the hinterland”, Abhishek Somany, Managing Director, Somany Ceramics Ltd said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a function here on Friday, he said the imports have picked up in the last six months and are available at a price difference of 15 per cent. The imposition of antidumping duties in several European countries, Taiwan, Brazil etc on imports from China may have prompted Chinese tile manufacturing companies to look at the Indian market in a big way.

The industry, he said, has submitted a representation to the Government to take serious measures to stop this unhealthy practice considering the gap in demand and supply. Today, the annual tile consumption in India is estimated at 650 million sq metre against a production which is ranging between 750-780 million sq metres.

According to him, the overall recession had an impact on the ₹23,000 crore industry, with the growth rate declining to 11 per cent from 14 per cent in the last three years, seriously affecting the survival of many smaller players.

However, Somany Ceramics has managed to register a 20 per cent growth against the industry growth rate even with a better share in the market, he said.

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