As the plastic processing industry limps back after being hit by the pandemic, rising raw material costs, and falling demand, all hopes are pinned on the upcoming Union Budget 2023.

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Vivek Daga, director at Sarvottam Polymers in Dadra, said he has never seen demand fall like it has this year. His company, which makes plastic items and packaging materials for companies such as Dmart, Godrej Consumer, and Plum, said orders, especially for household items, have fallen significantly in the past year, forcing them to run at just 40-60 percent capacity. A ban on single-use plastic has only made matters worse.

Adding to rising costs and low demand, an influx of cheap imports from countries like China is also hurting the domestic market. The industry said increasing the import duty on value-added products to at least 20 percent will help boost local manufacturing.

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Exports of plastics have slipped amid tough macroeconomic conditions. According to data from The Plastic Export Promotion Council, the export of plastics in the April-November 2022 period fell 6.7 percent year-on-year to $8,178 million.

To boost exports, the industry hopes the government will reduce the import duty of their key raw material polymer to help make exports of value-added products from India more competitive. Other expectations also include support in reducing logistic costs, subsidies, and a lower threshold for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

Renewable and solar energy is now being seen as the next big opportunity for plastic processors to make parts and components for solar panels and windmills. To that effect, the industry is hoping the government offers incentives to promote local manufacturing to benefit the industry at a time when demand for plastic is fading.

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