Consumption of synthetic rubber up 11% in June

The country's synthetic rubber consumption rose 11 per cent to 36,945 tonnes in June, while domestic production rose marginally to 9,279 tonnes in the same period, according to the Rubber Board.

Synthetic rubber consumption and output stood at 33,235 tonnes and 9,254 tonnes respectively in June last year, the Rubber Board data shows.

In the April-June quarter, synthetic rubber consumption rose nearly 11 per cent to 109,575 tonnes as compared to 99,160 tonnes in the same period of the previous financial year.

Production of natural rubber rose by four per cent to 28,009 tonnes against 26,956 tonnes in the period under review.

However, production of synthetic rubber on a month-on-month basis declined by two per cent to 9,279 tonnes in June, compared to 9,468 tonnes in May. Synthetic rubber is mostly used in tyre manufacturing. The auto tyre industry's consumption of synthetic rubber rose by almost 16 per cent to 26,907 tonnes in June this year, against 23,256 tonnes in the same period of the previous year.

In the April-June quarter, the industry's consumption rose 16 per cent to 80,579 tonnes, as against 69,648 tonnes in the same period of the previous financial year (2010-11).

India's import of synthetic rubber rose 20 per cent to 29,641 tonnes in June from 24,795 tonnes in the same period of the previous year.