India’s plastic exports grew by 17.1 per cent to $ 8.85 billion during the year 2017-18, against the previous financial year boosted by higher shipment of raw materials and value-added products. Plastic exports stood at $ 7.56 billion in 2016-17, according to data by Plastics Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil) sponsored by the commerce ministry.
Plastics formed 2.92 per cent of India’s overall merchandise exports in 2017-18, higher than the 2.74 per cent share held in 2016-17, it added.
The export during FY18 were primarily aided by higher shipment of plastic raw materials and value-added plastic products including woven sacks, plastic sheets or films or plates, optical items, laminates, packaging items, and medical disposables to the European Union, North America, Latin America and Caribbean and North-East Asia, Plexconcil said.
India’s plastic product exports to the US were valued at $ 1.11 billion during the year, it added.
“The US, China and the UAE were top three destinations for our plastic products during 2017-18. These three countries accounted for 25.7 per cent of India’s plastic product exports, by value. We had been targeting to breach the $ 1 billion export mark to the US and we achieved this milestone in FY18,” Plexconcil chairman A K Basak said.
Plexconcil, he said, is targeting an export value of $ 10.6 billion in 2018-19 and by 2025, the council is expecting to increase India’s share in the global export market (worth $ 850 billion) to 3 per cent from the current size of less than 1 per cent, he added.
He said, this target is difficult, but achievable, and the council intends to make concerted efforts towards this with the assistance of its members through technology upgradation, increased funding in research and development and innovative marketing strategies directed towards increased export of value-added plastic products from India.
India is currently ranked among the top five consumers of polymers in the world and has over 30,000 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.
Source:-Thehindubusinessline.com
