By Sachin Murdeshwar
Mumbai : India’s export of plastics posted a growth of 17.1% at USD 8.85 billion during the year 2017-18 as against USD 7.56 billion in 2016-17, registering a faster pace of growth than the overall merchandise export growth from India as per The Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL). The merchandise exports from India touched US$ 303.3 billion, registering a growth of 9.9% in 2017-18 (provisional) vis-a-vis US$ 275.9 billion in 2016-17.
According to PLEXCONCIL, plastics formed 2.92% of India’s overall merchandise exports in 2017-18, a tad higher than the 2.74% share held in 2016-17. India’s plastics export during the year were primarily boosted by higher shipment of plastic raw materials and value-added plastic products including Woven sacks/FIBC, Plastic sheets/films/plates, Optical items, Laminates, Packaging items, and Medical disposables to the European Union, North America, Latin America & Caribbean, and North-East Asia. India’s plastic product exports to the United States were valued at US$ 1.11 billion during the year.
Mr. A. K. Basak, Chairman, PLEXCONCIL, said, “United States, China and the United Arab Emirates were top-3 destinations for India’s plastic products during 2017-18. These three countries accounted for 25.7% of India’s plastic product exports, by value. PLEXCONCIL had been targeting to breach the US$ 1 billion export mark to the United States and we achieved this milestone in FY18. PLEXCONCIL is targeting an export value of USD 10.6 billion in 2018-19 and by 2025, PLEXCONCIL is expected to increase India’s share in the global plastics export market (worth US$ 850 billion) to 3.0% from the current size of less than 1.0%”.
Mr. Basak further said, “The target is difficult, but achievable, and the council intends to take concerted efforts towards this front with the assistance of its members through upgradation in technology, increased R&D spend, and innovative marketing strategies directed towards increased export of value-added plastic products from India. Besides the council also intends to bring-in new businesses into the export fold by creating awareness for exports.”
The country’s plastics industry offers immense potential in terms of capacity, infrastructure and skilled manpower. India is currently ranked among the top five consumers of polymers in the world and has 30,000 plus plastic processing units employing over four million (40 lakh) people across the country. Plastics are among the fastest-growing industries in the country experiencing a double digit growth rate on an average. The plastics industry in India is making significant contribution to the economic development and growth of various key sectors in the country which includes automotive, construction, electronics, healthcare, and FMCG.
The plastic processing industry has the potential to contribute in bringing foreign investments and thus India’s vision of becoming a manufacturing hub. The country is set to have 18 plastic parks with an investment of Rs. 400 crore from the Government to boost domestic production of plastics. The setting up of plastic parks is expected to further increase competitiveness and investments, achieve environmentally sustainable growth and adopt the cluster development approach to consolidate capacities in the plastics sector in addition to job creation. The Indian Plastics Industry offers huge growth opportunities due to lower per capita consumption as compared to world average coupled with low labour cost and availability of skilled manpower and training centers