MUMBAI - India on Monday imposed 10% import tax on polybutadiene rubber sourced from South Korea in an attempt to support local producers, the government said.

Duty-free imports were earlier allowed form South Korea under a bilateral agreement.

The 10% duty would be effective until January 28th, 2021, the government said.

The move could raise the production cost of tyre makers such as MRF, Apollo Tyres and Ceat, but help polybutadiene rubber producer Reliance Industries.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav. Editing by Jane Merriman) ((rajendra.jadhav@thomsonreuters.com; +91-22-68414378 ; Reuters Messaging: rajendra.jadhav.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))