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With the increasing purchasing power, the demand for petrochemical is on the roll. The products cover all the essential daily use items ranging from housing, clothing, construction, automobiles, horticulture, furniture, household items, packaging, medical appliances and much more. This has given polymers the much needed push in the country. The per capita consumption of polymer has reached the saturation level in US whereas India is expected to maintain a high economic growth propelling the country’s polymer consumption. India could turn into a net exporter of polyethylene in 2017 as the country will welcome new capacities in Gujarat. With it, India could target China, Africa, Turkey and Southeast Asia as the possible export markets in the country’s domestic PE capacity will increase by 2.01m tonnes by mid-year.

India has always imported polymer until 2016, but by the second half of 2017, India’s PE capacity outpaced the domestic demand. There has always been a major demand from industries like construction, packaging and automobiles. This trend is expected to continue with a higher vigour. There are endless opportunities for the petrochemical industry in the coming years. In order to make the most of this growth, various companies are making investments to boost their petrochemical activities. Others are working towards capacity expansions to fill the gap between the demand and supply within the country. However, there are areas where the industry faces various challenges:

GST: With the implementation of GST across the country, a rate of 18% will be applicable on chemicals and polymers. Plastic manufacturers are expecting to boost their export sales with the implementation of GST since it will be a level playing ground for the global and domestic players. Major players are positive about the long term changes in the industry post the implementation of GST.

Improvement in Infrastructure: One of the major setbacks for foreign investment is the state of infrastructure in the country. Various projects are in the pipeline to attract foreign companies to establish industries in India. Government has set a target of constructing 15,000 km highways in the next financial year in order to help capacity expansion and ease industrial logistics in the country.

National Chemical Policy: The industry has forever been waiting for the National Chemical Policy which intends to provide an environment, infrastructure and duty structure for the industry in the country. It will develop a framework for the promotion of safety and security in the sector in order to help the industry grow.

Foreign Investment: The growth of the Indian economy has enticed the foreign investors to make India their investment destination with new expectations. Overseas investment in India is expected to surge to a record number in the coming year.

Gearing up for growth: In order to make the investment easy, the government is looking into projects that help expand the industry. It plans to induce the skilled workforce into the industry in order to handle the growth of more than 100 Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology. Currently, there are only 23 institutes in the country.

Capacity expansion: In order to make the most of the growth story, companies are gearing up their capabilities with plans of expansion and technology transfers.

Challenges can be turned into an opportunity with the use of technology and skilled manpower. The pace at which the industry is growing, the only way to ascertain its presence in the global market, is by grabbing every opportunity to make it a strong stepping stone to growth.