Blog

​​​​​​​Europe’s tire and rubber sector is navigating a complex landscape, as global competition sharpens, regulatory pressures mount, and operational costs erode profitability. Recent developments paint an intricate picture, where manufacturing exits, output declines, and pleas for policy clarity signal that the industry is grappling with structural shifts with lasting consequences.

Highlights

• Plant closures signal Europe’s industrial competitiveness crisis
• Regulatory burdens over Europe’s retreading sector future
• Weak enforcement and oversight cloud UK ELT exports

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​​​​​​​Even as fresh objections from the European Parliament raise uncertainties over the EU Commission’s deforestation risk classifications—casting new doubt on the EUDR’s rollout by January 2026—India’s rubber industry, like several other producer nations, is pressing ahead with its preparations. The Indian Rubber Board is actively rolling out several EUDR sensitization programs across the country.

Highlights

• Rubber Board undertakes nationwide EUDR sensitization drives
• Geo-mapping and traceability systems scaled up across states
• Low-risk status to come under EU review in 2026

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June 2025 saw a persistently weak Chinese rubber market amid macroeconomic uncertainty, soft demand, and ample global supply. China’s rubber spot market fundamentals remained pessimistic. While tire production briefly supported demand, it declined later as both domestic and international automotive sectors softened, driven by weak external demand and lingering U.S.–China trade tensions. The weak new export orders sub-index, reflected tepid overseas demand.

Highlights

• Overall bearish market conditions in China
• Mixed trade data underscore tepid demand conditions
• Arbitrage window might open as spread between Chinese and international prices narrows

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India’s tire sector is at an inflection point, shaped by domestic ambitions and recalibrated global strategies. As international majors like Continental, Bridgestone, and Michelin double down on premium and local production, and local champions such as Apollo and MRF pursue global growth and EV opportunities, the industry’s future is being proactively redefined.

Highlights

• Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone pivot to premium with local focus
• MRF expands in EV, defence, and export markets amid capacity growth
• Apollo restructures in Europe, bolstering premium bicycle

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Leading Chinese tire manufacturers are accelerating efforts to localize production across emerging markets while consolidating domestic operations as escalating geopolitical tensions and new trade barriers begin to reshape the global trade layout. Amid increased tariffs, firms such as Shandong Linglong Tire, Shandong Yongsheng Rubber, and China National Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. (CNTR) are recalibrating global strategies.

Highlights

• Linglong Tire’s new plants in Brazil, Kenya and Anhui in China
• Yongsheng Rubber to take advantage of Morocco’s FTA with West
• CNTR’s car tire facility to come up at Alexandria in Egypt

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​​​​​​​Indonesia’s rubber sector put up a display of resilience, adaptability, and strategic strength in the first four months of 2025, navigating a volatile global landscape marked by geopolitical disruptions – including Trump tariffs – rising costs, and erratic weather. Even as prices came under sustained pressure, Indonesia maintained a steady export momentum—including to sensitive markets like the United States—underscoring its competitiveness and importance in global rubber trade flows.

Highlights

• Price edge and stable grades help Indonesia stage a good show
• US demand strengthens despite Trump tariffs
• China demand softens, Japan slides as tariffs take effect

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Thailand’s rubber exports registered a decline of 18.58% in value in April 2025 from March 2025 in tandem with a dip in export volume, which fell by 20% month-on-month in April, even as the country was visited by heavy rain and flash floods, impacting production and supply, and the world reeled under Trump tariffs.

Highlights

• Thailand’s rubber export value dips 18.58% MoM in April 2025
• Staggering 43.6% fall in Thai rubber imports value to China
• Rubber producers can now use trees as collateral for loans

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​​​​​​​Sri Lanka’s rubber sector grappled with a convergence of internal constraints and external pressures in April 2025, underscoring the challenges ahead in its ambitious path toward US$2 billion in rubber and rubber products exports by 2030.

Highlights

• Export earnings fall 8.16% YoY to US$61.15 million in April 2025
• Latex harvesting starts in drier North-Central Province areas
• Bid to scale up global market share in rubber products from 0.25%

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​​​​​​​Malaysia’s natural rubber industry faltered in April 2025, with production plunging to its lowest level in recent years amid deep-rooted structural challenges and seasonal headwinds. Despite the government’s sustained push to revitalise the smallholder-driven sector, a shortage of tappers and shifting rural labour priorities—particularly during the durian season—have exposed the sector’s fragility.

Highlights

• April NR production plunges 37.3% month-on-month
• Exports fall sharply; glove shipments dip 19.2% to US$258.9 mn
• Imports too decline despite tapering NR production

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​​​​​​​Indian rubber sector witnessed a marginal production growth of 2.1% year on year in the financial year 2024-25 (April 2024-March 2025) despite domestic NR prices hovering at higher levels, while consumption registered a marginal decline of .4% with the tire firms reporting significant margin erosion due to high raw material costs.

Highlights

• FY 2024-25 NR production at 875,000 tons, consumption 1.41 mn tons
• Compound rubber imports go up by 44.5% to 245,407 tons in FY 24-25
• Replanting supported primarily by pineapple farming contractors

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