Plastic Takes A Profitable Turn

Even if activists around the world would rather put a complete ban on plastic products, several triggers such as the pandemic-driven change in work and lifestyle, increasing urbanisation, growth in infrastructure and demand from the agriculture industry, among other factors, have boosted production in the plastic pipe and packaging sectors. In this report, Armaan Madhani highlights the salient growth drivers while also pointing out the key challenges

- Armaan Madhani

Market growth and diversification – these are the two factors that have contributed to the rapid strides taken by the Indian plastic industry in recent years. Latest reports indicate that the industry is likely to see increasing demand in the post-pandemic era. In fact, among the very few industries to have done so, the Indian plastic industry has shown resilience by staging healthy recovery from the pandemic-induced slowdown in the first two quarters of FY21. In this special feature, we delve deeper to understand the plastic piping and plastic packaging sectors.

Plastic Piping Sector

The global plastic piping market is valued at USD 55.96 billion and expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.8 per cent from 2021 to 2025 to reach USD 62.41 billion by 2025. In terms of volume, the global PVC pipe market has reached 24.51 million tonnes in 2020 and is expected to reach a volume of 30.25 million tonnes by 2025. The Indian plastic pipe and fittings industry is expected to reach ₹500-550 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 10 per cent from the current level of ₹290-300 billion. The primary driver of growth in the piping and fitting industry is the rapid pace of urbanisation and infrastructure development. Increasing urbanisation calls for larger and cost-effective sewage lines, among other applications. This has also led to demand in the chemical as well as the oil and natural gas sectors. Other industries such as automotive and mining are also likely to boost the demand for plastic pipes. The growth drivers are as follows: