FY12 natural rubber imports surge to record high.

India’s natural rubber imports in the fiscal year ended in March rose 9% on year to a record high of 205,050 tonnes as lower prices in the world market in the second half of the year prompted local tyre makers to ramp up purchases.

Imports in March surged nearly four times on year to 19,199 tonnes, though they were lower than February’s 22,924 tonnes, provisional data released by the state-run Rubber Board showed on Thursday.

“Tyre makers significantly raised purchases from December onwards as rubber was cheaper in the world market,” said George Valy, president of the Indian Rubber Dealers Federation.

“Even in April and May tyre makers will import good amount.”

India imports natural rubber from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The country’s imports in the current financial year will depend on the difference between local and overseas prices, dealers said.

Spot price of the most traded RSS-4 rubber (ribbed, smoked sheet) in the Kochi market in the southern Kerala state was Rs198 ($3.84) per kg on Thursday, while it was Rs199 in Bangkok, Thailand, data with the Indian Rubber Board showed.

Natural rubber consumption rose 2% to 966,215 tonnes in 2011/12 from a year earlier despite sluggish demand from tyre makers in first half of the year after auto sales started faltering.

Car sales in India rose just 2.2% in the fiscal year that ended in March, a year to forget for automakers, marked by demand-smothering high interest rates and rising fuel costs, but are seen posting double-digit growth this year.

The country’s rubber production, the world’s fourth biggest producer, rose slightly by 4.3% on year in the 2011/12 year to a record high of 899,400 tonnes.

Opening stocks for 2012/13 are estimated at 230,000 tonnes, sharply lower compared to last year’s 288,300 tonnes.

Source : livemint.com