Agitated by weak stock flow to the market, the rubber consuming industry has questioned the quality of official Natural Rubber (NR) stock data of the Rubber Board of India.

All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) and Automative Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) have also demanded that the Board get a fresh study conducted on the supply situation by an independent agency. “There has been practically no selling of NR for the most part of May,” says Niraj Thakkar, president, AIRIA. “It is apparent that the domestic NR availability scenario has taken a turn for the worse in the ongoing financial year and we have pointed this out to the Rubber Board,” he told FE.

In a letter to Rubber Board chairman Sheela Thomas, AIRIA has dubbed the available stock figures in Rubber Board’s projections as “divorced from reality? and urged “a reality check through an independent study”. ?It is during such times that the available NR stock should come into play. However there has been no availability of NR in markets in recent times, adding to the woes of rubber consumers, especially SMEs who are already grappling with a challenging environment,? says Thakkar’s letter.

According to latest Rubber Board figures, the NR stock available at the end of April 2014 was 2.35 lakh tonne. Apparently, the industry is no mood to believe this data.

“Currently, the domestic NR price is ruling around R30 per kg higher than the international price. That should cause the stock lying with dealers to find its way to the market. Since there is continued acute shortage, it only lends credence to the industry?s contention that the stock position as suggested by the Rubber Board may be exaggerated. An independent study to check the stock position will do a lot of good,” says Thakkar.

ATMA too points out ?that the absence of NR in local markets is wreaking havoc with the production schedules of tyre companies. While the companies have already contracted imports to meet the deficit, the local availability is much lower than anticipated in the current financial year. ?Considering the present levels of scarcity, we have apprehensions over the likely scenario in the coming months,? says Rajiv Budhraja, director general, ATMA. ATMA and AIRIA have also asked for revisiting the projected NR scenario for 2014-15 in terms of production, consumption, imports and exports based on the actual scenario observed in April and June.