Mumbai: Tyre-maker Ceat today said it may raise its prices by 2-3 per cent from next month to offset rising input costs.

"I am reasonably confident that we will have to increase tyre prices by 2-3 per cent in April. This is due to rising input costs," Ceat's Managing Director Paras K Chowdhary said here. The company had reduced the price of tyres by two per cent in March following reduction in excise duty in the Union Budget.

"During the last 12 months, the cost of inputs have gone up by 10-12 per cent. If it was a small cash push, we could have handled it, but the push is higher. I think a price rise is very much on the cards," Chowdhary said. The spiraling rise in the crude prices is a concern for the tyre industry since three of its important raw materials come from crude oil, the price of which is hovering above $100 per barrel.

"Unless raw material costs are controlled, what can we do?" he asked. Ceat has tyres for all user segments- heavy duty trucks and buses, light commercial vehicles, earth movers, forklifts, tractors, trailers, cars, two three wheelers - up to 17 tyre categories. It has three tyre manufacturing facilities in India and two in Sri Lanka.

Source : PTI