India set to be third largest plastics consumer by 2012

04 February 2009 08:03  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW DELHI (ICIS news)--India is set to become the third largest consumer of plastics by 2012, after the US and China, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.

"Although the global financial meltdown has had an impact on the Indian economy, the demand fundamentals in the Indian plastics industry are strong, and nothing can stop it from forging ahead in the longer term," said Arvind Mehta, president of the PlastIndia Foundation.

With a per capita plastics consumption of merely 6kg, compared to the global per capita consumption of 27 kg, India's growth potential was tremendous, he said, as he welcomed participants to the 7th International Plastics Exhibition and Conference or PlastIndia 2009, India's largest plastics exhibition and conference.

"The plastics industry in India grew at the rate of 12-15% in the last financial year which ended on 31 March 2008, with exports valued at $3.6m," said Mehta.

PlastIndia could play a major role in rallying the industry to re-engineer itself and become more competitive, he said.

"However, we need the Indian government's help in achieving this objective, as we face several constraints including infrastructure bottlenecks and high power costs," he said.

PlastIndia 2009,  which is held every three years ends next Monday.

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Prema Viswanathan
+65 6780 4359

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly