Plea to withdraw inspection of NR

Delay in clearance hits production

Rubber-consuming firms import NR due to high price

Inspections carried out by Rubber Board

KOCHI: Rubber-consuming industries represented by the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) and the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) have called for the withdrawal of random inspection of imported natural rubber (NR) by the Rubber Board as delay in clearance of NR has started impacting the entire production process.

A statement issued by ATMA said due to the prevailing high price of natural rubber, rubber-consuming firms import NR in quantities which are just adequate to meet the current consumption requirements as a part of prudent inventory management.

As a result, any delay in clearance of NR disrupts the production process and at times leads to delays in honouring export commitments, the statement added. The views have been expressed in communications to the government.

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

The rubber-consuming industries have stated that natural rubber was not an end product in the form that it was imported (as sheet or block rubber). Instead, it is a raw material and it has to go through a long process of manufacturing to make end products like tyres or other rubber products. Hence it is important that quality and standards are followed for the finished products and not for raw materials, the statement added.

With rubber prices prevailing at a high level, the user industries can ill-afford to buy NR which does not meet the quality requirement as the resultant fallout on the quality of the end product could be a drain on financial resources. Therefore user industries are extra cautious that imported NR is of high quality to ensure proper value addition.

The Government of India has included a large number of rubber products, including automotive tyres and tubes, in the list of products for obtaining mandatory BIS/ISI quality certification with effect from May 2011, which makes quality marking of raw material like natural rubber redundant, say rubber-user industries.

The rejection rate of imported NR by Rubber Board is less than one per cent, which itself indicates that the provision is uncalled for and can be dispensed with, the statement added.

(SOurce: http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041852431500.htm)