India’s natural rubber imports more than tripled in September on a domestic shortage, likely driving overseas purchases to a record 250,000 tonne in the current fiscal through March despite a weak rupee, senior industry and trade executives said on Monday.

Imports jumped to 45,581 tonne in September from 14,779 tonne a year earlier, driving up imports in the first half of the fiscal to 179,292 tonne, up 59.2% from a year before, according to latest data by the state-run Rubber Board.

The country’s natural rubber imports rose to 2,17,364 tonne in 2012-13 from 2,14,433 tonne in the year before. “Natural rubber output remained low since July as tapping activity has been adversely affected by rains. So tyre makers had to ramp up imports to ease supplies,” said Rajiv Budhraja, director-general of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers? Association (ATMA), members of which account for around 90% of the country?s tyre output.

The production of the commodity dropped 4.9% in September to 78,000 tonne while output in the first half of the fiscal crashed by 13.3% from a year earlier to 3,43,000 tonne, showed the data.

India, the world’s fourth-biggest natural rubber producer, mainly imports the commodity from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Adding to the demand, the country’s passenger vehicle sales went up by 12.4% during the April-August period, while three-wheeler sale surged by 33%. Tyre makers make up for more than 60% of the country’s natural rubber demand.

Although the rupee has depreciated by 14% this fiscal, making imports less more expensive, the drop in output has left tyre manufacturers with no other option but to purchase from overseas, according to Budhraja.

At Rs 15,347 a quintal, prices of the RSS-3 variety in Bangkok were ruling 8.5% lower than the equivalent Indian variety.

However, an import duty of Rs 20 a kg blunts the advantage and makes imports costlier, said a Kerala-based dealer.

Sensing the shortage, the revenue department earlier this year rejected a proposal to raise import duty on natural rubber to Rs 34 a kg from the current Rs 20, according to government officials.

The commerce ministry proposed the hike in view of intense lobbying by natural rubber growers from Kerala, the country’s largest producer, and some of the members of Parliament from the state.

However, as domestic prices showed signs of a rebound, the revenue department of the finance ministry was not keen on hiking the duty, fearing its adverse impact on the auto industry, which was struggling with a slowdown.