The association's public relations office, citing Donya-e-Eqtesad, reports that chair Fariborz Amiri distinguished road construction tires from giant mining tires. Some Small OTR tires are manufactured in Iran, but domestic capacity does not meet all market demand and imports supply part of the requirement.
The situation is different for Giant OTR tires, mainly used on ultra-heavy dump trucks at major mines. Amiri said no new tires in that category were manufactured domestically at the time of the interview, leaving the country's needs effectively entirely dependent on imports.
He said Aria Rubber Industrial Complex in Ravar, Kerman, would begin operations in the following months, offering specialist mining tire repair and retreading. Tires with sound casings could return to service, extending their lives and reducing mining costs and some foreign exchange outflows. Retreading is not a substitute for new tire imports or manufacturing, but can narrow the gap between mining demand and available supply.
Amiri criticized policies that do not distinguish tire categories. Ordinary heavy tires, Small OTR and Giant OTR tires differ substantially in manufacturing technology, weight, load capacity, operating conditions and price, and cannot all be covered by one policy.
He said the customs duty on giant mining tires had been set at 4% because the principal sizes required by major mines lacked domestic production, describing this as reasonable. Support for local manufacturing is essential, but should relate to products made at suitable quality, sufficient capacity and with regular delivery. Restrictions or protective tariffs on goods without a domestic equivalent merely increase mining costs.
Availability and delivery time can be more important than price for giant mining tires, he said. Multi-million-dollar dump trucks cannot operate without tires; the absence of even one can stop a machine completely, affecting mineral transport, plant feed and ultimately production. Giant OTR tires should therefore be treated as strategic mining goods.
International shipping restrictions have also increased supply costs and delivery times. In current experience, both had roughly doubled compared with normal conditions, he said. Vessel rerouting, higher insurance and freight costs, fewer shipping services and longer transit times make supply planning harder.
Amiri identified order registration and foreign exchange allocation as major domestic obstacles. In some cases, importers of Giant OTR tires wait around 250 days for an agency's response. For goods with no domestic equivalent, delays can cause pro forma invoices to expire, prices and freight costs to change, or available stock to be lost.
He called for large tires without domestic equivalents to be formally classified as strategic mining goods and given a dedicated process for order registration and foreign exchange allocation. Support for domestic production should go alongside fast, predictable supply of goods not made locally, preventing mine stoppages while developing repair, retreading and eventually manufacturing capacity.
Policy Matched to Actual Capacity
Higher import costs for these tires ultimately appear in mining cost structures. When no domestic equivalent exists, mines must buy abroad, and every additional customs, shipping or insurance cost increases the price of equipment essential to continued operation.
Protection for domestic manufacturing makes sense where production capacity exists or is at least dependable. If a product is not yet manufactured in Iran, support should focus on creating that capacity rather than making its supply more expensive.
The report also refers to paragraph Sad of Note 6 of the 1401 SH budget law, which subjected production, industrial, mining and agricultural machinery and equipment to import duties, changing earlier exemptions for some qualifying production-line equipment. It argues that changes in the cost of importing equipment and inputs without domestic alternatives should be assessed against their effects on production costs and continuity.
For giant mining tires, a more effective approach would distinguish them precisely from other tire categories. Until domestic manufacturing is established, easier imports and shorter supply processes can prevent existing capacity from being idled. Repair, refurbishment and retreading can reduce part of the demand for new tires. If local production is subsequently established, policy can then be designed around its actual capacity.
