Restrictions on import standards to hit rubber products exports

New Delhi

Rubber products industry expressed apprehension that restrictions on standards of imported consignments will affect their competitiveness both in the international and domestic market.

“India’s Rs 1,500 crore rubber product exports will be badly hit due to the restriction that imported natural rubber (NR) should be of BIS standards. As a result there has been a needless disruption in import of the commodity for export oriented production,” industry sources said here.

All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) pointed out that while the import is of high quality NR mainly for making products for exports, the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) standards in many cases vary with the ones prescribed by Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

These minor variations would be in areas such as bale weight, labelling and marking though the chemical and physical properties are equivalent or even better than that of BIS. Due to such variations import of NR for making finished products will not be allowed by the customs authorities leading to disruption of production, supplies and exports.

Comparable grades for certain technically specific rubber varieties used by export oriented industries were not available in the country in the right quantity and quality. These grades were used for making specialised products such as critical auto components, nipples for feeding bottles and pharma-medico products largely for exports.

The industry is now apprehensive that special grades of NR like ISNR-3 CV, ISNR-3L and ISNR-5 which are export oriented units, will not be allowed as the international packaging specification is different from BIS.

Sources said importers of critical items abroad do specify uses of specialised NR of international standards for production of items ordered for exports. But with government’s restrictions on standards, it was actually imposing a non-tariff barrier while lamenting when other countries follow the same modus-operandi.

Due to this exporters were unlikely to meet the buyers specifications thereby hitting exports.

There will also be problem in importing sheet rubber for which there were no BIS standards, while the global ones were prescribed in the
International Standards of Quality and Packaging for Natural Rubber Grades or the “Green Book.”

— PTI