Irish tyre distributors say that rising energy costs and increases in the price of raw materials as a result of the US and Iranian war in the Middle East – combined with change in preferential tariff treatment – have caused tyre prices to soar by 12% in the first seven months of this year.
These tyre price increases have added in the region of €500 plus VAT to the cost of replacing all four tyres on a 130-150hp tractor, depending on tyre size and brand.
Kevin Burke from Kevin Burke Tyres (KBT) in Galway told the Irish Farmers Journal that “all tyre distributors received a 5% price increase in March, which was solely off the back of the war between the US and Iran, which had a major knock-on effect on oil prices”.
“Crude oil linked derivatives make up 60% to 70% of tyre manufacturing costs. All manufacturers are now passing a further 3% price rise to distributors, which they say is based on the current energy crisis,” he said.
“Indian tyre brands currently make up the lion’s share of the Irish agricultural tyre market leaving such brands hugely vulnerable to rises in shipping and transport costs. It’s sort of a double whammy as energy costs not only effect production costs but transport too.”
“Shipping costs in 2026 have increased by €1,000 per container. On average, 70 agricultural tyres fit into a container, thus adding a further €15/tyre.
“We are lucky that we had foreseen this price rise, and ordered 12 months stock from Alliance around one month ago, but rising transport and wages will put further pressures on tyre distributors,” Burke said.
“In addition to these price increases, from 1 January 2026, certain Indian rubber products lost preferential tariff treatment under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences.
“As a result, these products became subject to the standard EU customs duty, which for agricultural and forestry rubber products is around 4%, increasing the cost of importing them into the EU.
“The majority of agricultural tyres being sold in the EU are now being sourced from India from the four big players: Alliance, BKT, Ascenso and Ceat,” he added.
Energy and raw materials
“The main reason tyre prices are increasing is down to the rising cost of raw materials. Tyre production uses products such as rubber, carbon black, and steel, alongside petroleum-based chemicals. Raw materials typically account for 40% to 60% of the cost of manufacturing a tyre,” said Burke.
“Energy costs also play a major role in tyre manufacturing. Tyre manufacturing is an energy-intensive process which requires large amounts of electricity and heat during mixing, curing and moulding.
“Energy prices continue to be volatile, with electricity and natural gas prices above historical averages in most regions. When the prices of the inputs and energy costs increase, tyre manufacturers pass on price increases,” he added.
Chinese anti-dumping tax
Outside of agricultural tyres, the EU has been investigating Chinese-made passenger car and light-truck tyres for dumping since May 2025. The EU has now placed an anti-dumping duty on the Chinese-made tyres, which depends on the manufacturer. It ranges from 4.3% on the Hankook Group, up to 45.3%. These measures took effect from 7 July 2026.
This is on top of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties the EU has already had in place on Chinese bus and truck tyres since 2018.
The new measure extends the same principle to passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (including SUVs and vans) imported from China under CN codes 4011 10 00 and 4011 20 10, which is the range most Irish garages fit.
According to Premier Tyres in Kildare, China supplied roughly a quarter of all passenger tyres sold into the EU last year. The company says there is no other production base that can replace that volume overnight.
It says that industry reporting already points to tighter supply and upward price pressure, and that pressure does not stay confined to Chinese brands.
It maintained that when a quarter of the market gets more expensive or harder to source, the rest of the market feels it too.