Rubber makers brace for cuts in output as Türkiye may gain edge in US mkt

Farmers' groups brace to fight against impact on growers

As the world reels under the impact of Trump’s tariff war, rubber producers in India are also bracing for cuts in their production.

 

The US is by far India’s largest market for vulcanised rubber exports, trade data shows.

 

In FY24, India exported around $602 million worth of vulcanised rubber worldwide, of which the US’s share was around 22 per cent or close to $132.40 million.

 

Trade sources said that the bulk of exports are in the form of vulcanised rubber, which is then manufactured into various products, including tyres, and sent back to India.

 

“The major worry is that the import tariff on Turkey has been imposed at 10 per cent, which is India’s biggest competitor in the US market,” Shashi Singh, president of the All India Rubber Industries Association, told Business Standard.

 

He said that this would mean US markets would be flooded with rubber from Turkey, while Indian exports would be outpriced. 

 

“Already, some of our big buyers in the US are advising us to suspend production for some time, as they first want to exhaust the existing stocks,” the official explained.

 

He said rubber is not a perishable commodity that cannot be stored, and hence, only when old stocks are fully exhausted does fresh demand originate.

 

The crisis in the domestic rubber industry due to the US tariff is just one of the many sectors facing an uncertain future due to the sudden spike in US tariffs.

 

In agriculture, several other sectors, such as seafood, are also facing the wrath of the tariffs. Farmers’ bodies are gearing up to protest against the hike in tariffs.

 

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (which organised the year-long farmers’ protest at the Delhi borders against the farm laws) has called for a general council meeting on April 21 in Delhi to decide their future course of action, where issues concerning farmers will be discussed. The tariff impact and other related developments could also come up for discussion, sources said.

 

Sources said the top leadership of SKM is of the opinion that farmers’ groups should firm up a strong stand against any attempt by the US to push Indian growers into a corner, and also against any move by the BJP to offer concessions that could harm the interests of farmers.

 

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), in a statement issued a few days ago, said that it has geared up all its units across India to organise mass protests against any attempt to allow import of cheap American agricultural products into India, which could harm Indian farmers.