The Plastics Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil) has targeted USD 25 billion growth for the industry. Arvind Goenka, Chairman of the council, said that they will be able to achieve this target by 2025.

“Plexconcil has setup this target because we feel that we will be able to achieve it by 2025. We are already working with the government to see how we can achieve it,” he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

However, Goenka said that polymer prices is a big concern and they are in talks with the government to introduce production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for polymers.

“India is import dependent on polymers and due to which the prices CIF offers to us are little higher than those which are offered to China and to North East Asian countries. The only way to correct this is by increasing the production of polymers. What we understand from the polymer producers is that the environment is not very conducive, not very profitable for them to add capacity. So, we are in touch with the government to introduce PLI schemes for polymers to setup the plastic parts all over the country,” he said.

He added that they are also in discussion with the government on PLI schemes for processed plastics and modernising the plastics industry. The technology upgradation fund scheme is also being discussed, he said.

“We have been assured by the government that they will be coming out with these schemes very soon. We feel that with these, the production of polymers will increase and so will the exports,” he said.

He also said that there is a need to renegotiate the free trade agreements. “The free trade agreements have not helped the plastic processing industry because India has very few free trade agreements – we only have with ASEAN, SAARC, Japan, Korea, and with the South American countries. Especially with the ASEAN and SAARC, these free trade agreements are not in favour of the plastic finished goods export. So, we have been writing to the government to renegotiate these free trade agreements,” he said.

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(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)