Published on June 29, 2015

Plastic industry has been making remarkable contribution towards the economic development and growth of various key sectors in the country namely: Automotive, Agriculture, Construction, Electronics, Healthcare, Textiles and FMCG etc. India observes significant regional diversity in consumption of plastics with Western India accounting for 47%, Northern India for 23% and Southern India for 21%. Bulk of the consumption in Northern India is from end use industries of Auto, packaging (including bulk packaging), plasticulture applications, electronic appliances etc. which are concentrated mostly in UP and Delhi- NCR (>50%). However, plastic processing in other parts like Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, J&K and Himachal Pradesh are expected to grow based on increased availability of feedstock and higher focus on manufacturing sector.

Petrochemical industry of India is in discussion with government to prepare a “negative” list of free-duty imports of finished plastic goods that are affecting the profit margin of country’s domestic producers, as said by industry sources. They said that domestic producers are not able to compete this market due to imposition duty on finished plastic products.

Industry news said that Indian government is studying about free duty imports on a number of plastic products from Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia so that they can fix this problem for local players. This study will include bodies that are representing petrochemical industry like All India Plastic Manufacturers’ Association (AIPMA) and officials from department of petrochemicals said by sources. Government and officials said that they believe that such issues need to be resolved as soon as possible so that it will help to Plastic industry.