The quality standards of domestic natural rubber that tyre manufacturers in India will need in the mid- and long-terms, which is around three to 10 years, will be defined by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) and the Rubber Board, according to ATMA Chairman Satish Sharma.
The decision came after a stakeholders’ meeting in which rubber growers questioned tyre makers’ sudden focus on quality. Rubber growers felt the domestic tyre industry had not defined the quality it expected from them.
As Chairman of ATMA, Sharma said he wants to bridge the deficit in perception. He explained the industry’s move to define standards will give it a clear direction.
A team has been formed, and over the next three months, the tyre industry will let the rubbers growers know about the quality standards it will want from them.
Sharma said the Prime Minister’s Office wanted to study the rubber sector and has sought ATMA’s suggestions.
Also, the government wants the tyre industry to focus on the North-East region in order to develop more rubber-producing zones. “Presently, rubber plantations there produce very little and they don’t know where to sell.”
ATMA has commissioned a team that is presently studying the rubber ecosystem in the region. It will come out with its findings in the next few months.
“Earlier, militancy and law-and-order issues prohibited us from studying the potential there. Now, with law and order in place, and as the government has a ‘Look East’ policy, there is an opportunity to develop a road map for the rubber sector in the region,” Sharma said.