Page 26 - Plastics News June 2021

FeAtures

Demand for Plastics expected to increase disposable and packaged items for reducing the chances
The Indian plastics industry produce a wide array of of virus infection. As the healthcare and pharmaceutical
plastics, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene sectors are expected to expand due to increasing demand
terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and for medical devices, PET medical packaging is forecast to
more. PP is the most produced polyolefin across India. surge in the near future. For the prospect of Indian's PVC
ChemAnalyst’s market research stated that the PP demand market, the demand for PVC in the country is estimated
in India grew at a CAGR of around 8.51% during 2015-2019 to achieve CAGR of over 6.81% during 2015-2030. Pipe
and is expected to achieve a healthy growth rate in 2022 grade PVC accounts for over 40% of the overall demand
- 2030. Although the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a as it is used in the production of water-distribution and
decrease in demand for PP in India, the consumption of underground irrigation pipes.
non-woven, fiber and transparent grades have increased Government policies in the budget of FY 2020 for
due to more production of injection syringes and other improvisation in facilities for piped water supply in rural
personal protective equipment (PPE). areas will boost the domestic demand for PVC. As domestic
In fiscal year 2020, the production volume of performance supply of PVC is unable to meet the massive demand for
plastics across India was around 1.7 million metric tons. the material, around 50% of the domestic demand is being
The Indian chemical industry is highly diversified. With a met through imports.
coverage of over 80 thousand products, the south Asian Automotive and packaging industries are growing
country was the sixth largest producer of chemicals in the
world and the fourth largest in Asia. Regarding applications, India has emerged as one of the
fastest growing automotive markets. It is the world’s
Looking ahead, with government investments in fourth largest automotive market with about 3.99
manufacturing PPE and medical products, restart of million passenger and commercial vehicles sold in 2019.
automotive plants with ease in lockdown restrictions, Polyurethane (PU) is known for hardness, good tensile
and capacity expansions of polyolefin by producers like strength and high abrasion resistance, and is widely used
Reliance Industries Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. for seat cushioning, body panels, and cabin noise reduction
and ONGC Petro additions Limited, India’s PP market will application.
be bolstered. PET is produced in India on massive capacity,
and majority of the demand in the country is satisfied by Packaging is another strong-growing application industry in
domestic production. PET resin demand is projected to India. The end-user sectors where plastic bottles and jars
grow at a CAGR of 6.75% in 2022-2030, according to the are mostly used in the country include food and beverages,
report of ChemAnalyst. India's demand for PET in the cosmetics, personal care and pharmaceuticals.
packaging of food and beverages has witnessed a further India is one of the largest producers of commodities like
increase during the pandemic, boosted by the higher food grains (220 million MT), sugar (20 million MT), milk
awareness of hygiene and enhanced procurement of (180 million MT), and fruits and vegetables (150 million
MT). Due to varied crop pattern, plastic packaging is
preferred and widely used for safe and hygienic storage,
transportation and distribution, and wastage protection.

In addition, more and more corporation in India have
been using sustainable plastic packaging. India is one
of Amazon’s key overseas markets. All of the company’s
50-plus fulfillment centers in the country are complying
with the new guidelines. Amazon said that it still uses
some plastics in packaging material, but those are 100%
recyclable. All in all, it can be seen that the Indian plastic
industry offers high potential in terms of production
capacity and market demand. Nevertheless, the
implementation of an effective integrated plastic waste
management and recycling system needs to be addressed
for a sustainable development.

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