NEW DELHI: An anti-dumping probe initiated recently into dialyser (renal care) imports from China and Malaysia has put the spotlight on growing concerns over low-priced medical device imports, particularly in segments where India has built significant manufacturing capacity.Imports from Asean increased by 14% to nearly Rs 13,000 crore FY25-26, led by syringes, medical gloves, dialysis products, consumables and imaging equipment, including X-ray machines, making it harder for companies to recover years of investment in local manufacturing, domestic players said to TOI.Company executives and industry experts said Chinese-origin products are increasingly entering India through Asean countries, availing of zero-duty benefits under the free trade agreement, prompting them to urge govt to tighten rules of origin.The concerns come even as certain players have invested under govt’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to reduce import dependence, but are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the domestic market.Imports of dialysers from Malaysia and China have doubled to Rs 256 crore over the last two years, the data says. Himanshu Baid, MD at Poly Medicure said: “India today has the capability, capacity and quality standards to manufacture world-class dialysis products. However, dumping of dialysers, largely originating from China and Malaysia is severely impacting domestic manufacturers. These artificially depressed prices leave little room for Indian companies to compete fairly, despite significant investments in manufacturing, R&D and quality. Companies, which have invested under the PLI Scheme to build domestic manufacturing capacity, would inevitably think twice before making further investments.”“Imports under the Asean FTA’s zero tariff regime have surged 14%, undermining India’s medtech manufacturing base. The recent anti-dumping investigation on dialysers against Malaysia highlights how Chinese devices are routed via Malaysia to exploit duty-free access. With factories shifting to Vietnam after US tariff measures, India risks a new wave of routed imports. Urgent FTA renegotiation is essential to safeguard domestic industry,” Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator, AiMeD said.Further, cheaper imports of disposables like gloves and imaging equipment are hurting industry and make them uncompetitive in govt tenders, where contracts are largely awarded on the basis of the lowest price, the expert added.Sanjeev Marjara, director technical at Allengers Medical Systems said: “Key components such as X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors used in imaging devices are largely imported. Unchecked low-priced imports, particularly from China, make it difficult for domestic manufacturers to scale investments in indigenous production.” Ravi Abraham, MD of Kanam Latex, a surgical gloves manufacturing firm, supports free trade agreements. “But the tariff structure on critical inputs needs to support domestic manufacturing.”