Plastic exports fall 6%

Bengaluru: India's plastics exports declined by six per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal following a dip in shipments to China and Pakistan, a senior industry official said on Friday.

Exports during April-September topped $4.32 billion, compared to $4.59 billion in the same period in the last financial year, down 5.9 per cent, according to Chairman of the Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL), Ravish Kumath.

PLEXCONCIL is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce, Government of India. Plastic accounts for 2.7 per cent of India's total merchandise exports. The decline is due to a 19 per cent dip in export of plastics raw materials — from $2.23 billion to $1.8 billion — particularly to China, India's biggest market, Kamath said.

"The trade war between the US and China has really created a very serious impact," he said.

India's plastics exports in 2018-19 were $10.89 billion, up 24 per cent from previous year's figure of $8.85 billion.

Plastic packaging sector, particularly flexible intermediate bulk containers is witnessing impressive growth in exports to the US.