Polymer Boom: Destination India

In a recent report, Global Data has provided an in-depth analysis of the Indian polymer industry.

India with its ever-growing manufacturing industry and supportive government policies has

escalated to world’s third largest consumer of polymers after China and the US. The deregulation

and privatization which followed after the 1991 liberalization sparked a boom in the end-use

sectors such as packaging, construction and automotive that has seen per capita consumption

increase from 1 kg in 1980 to 7.4 kg in 2010, as per the report.

Though much lower than the world average, the report emphasizes on the ample untapped

potential in the subcontinent coupled with its powerful economy. Production levels are soaring in

order to keep up withIndia’s ravenous demand. In 2011, the manufacture of polymer products

was 7.377 Million Mertic ton per annum (MMtpa) and this will surge at a CAGR of 9.4% to

reach 11.575 MMtpa by just 2016. The research indicates that polymer demand inIndiahas

outstripped the country’s strong GDP growth; in the period 2000 to 2011, polymer consumption

across all areas grew at a CAGR of 9.1% whileIndia’s GDP reached a Compound Annual

Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.6%.

The packaging and automotive industry are amongst the major growth drivers in polymer

industry. The processed food industry alone is expected to grow to a value of US$30 billion by

2015. Further, the Indian automotive sector is one of the fastest and lucrative industries for

polymer inIndia. . Over the past five years, output of new automobiles doubled from 9.5 million

units in 2006 to 18.2 million units in 2011. Demand from this industry is accelerating

consumption of PP and SBR in particular.

With increasing investment in the plastics processing sector, exports of plastic products are

“growing at a phenomenal rate,” the research group says, adding that this has improved

efficiency. The export value of processed plastics has doubled to an estimated US$2.3 billion in

2011 from 2006.India’s government has played a key role in enhancing the significance of

polymers, in the production industry as well as the consumer demand. The government setting up

four Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIRs) in Dahej

(Gujarat), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Paradip (Orissa) and Haldia (West Bengal), while

two more are upcoming – Cuddalore (Tamilnadu) and Mangalore (Karnataka), has been a very

encouraging step . Further, the government approving 100% Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI) which in turn has allowed foreign firms to have 100% ownership of food processing

companies, will create a higher demand for plastic packaging materials.

GlobalData is one of the leading business intelligence providers helping its clients to make better

decisions by offering advanced analytics. The report by GlobalData in future of polymer

inIndiadated July 2012, provides a detailed research highlighting the major features of industry

and explores the reason behind the phenomenal growth inIndia.