India's plastic exports to remain flat on eco-slowdown in FY20

The plastics exports are likely to remain flat this year following the global economic downturn and a decline in raw material prices, however, the government has set a target to triple exports to USD 1 trillion in five years, exporters body on Thursday said. "Plastic exports have been growing for the last two years. It grew by 17 percent in 2017-18 at USD 8.85 billion and 24 percent in 2018-19 at USD 10.89 billion. However, it declined by 3.9 percent in the first half of this year and is expected to recover in the second half finish the year flat compared to last year, the Plastics Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil) ED Sribash Dashmohapatra told PTI here.

The main reason for the slowdown in exports is the economic downturn in the export markets and a decline in raw materials prices, he added. However, he said, there has been 6.6 percent growth in exports of value-added plastics and due to the trade war, the shipments grew by 13 percent to the US in the first half of this financial year.

In the aftermath of the US-China trade war, the government is going all out to support apex export trade promotion bodies like PLEXCONCIL, CHEMEXCIL, CAPEXIL and SHEFEXIL for promotion of plastics, chemicals, and allied materials, he said. The government has set a target to triple India's exports from USD 331 billion to USD 1 trillion within a short span of 5 years.

"The government is urging exporters to explore new markets and to expand the existing one to take advantage of the huge potential provided by the trade war between the US and China. China's exports of plastics and allied material was USD 64 billion in 2018. This shows the opportunity," he added. For this, the government has joined hands with an apex plastic export bodies to organize 3-day CAP INDIA Expo 2019 from December 2, which will provide a platform for exporters to connect with trade delegations and buyers from countries including the US, Japan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Australia, and New Zealand, he said.

More than 48 countries are participating in CAP INDIA Expo 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)