Concerned over the recent hike in raw material cost, Indian plastic industry is seeking a 30 per cent increase in working capital loans from banks. Industry members plan to meet the RBI Governor soon to reiterate their demand as current volatility in crude prices and deprecation of the rupee has enhanced the raw-material costs, thus making manufacturing of plastic products unviable for the industry. Indian plastic industry has an annual turnover of Rs 90,000 crore and produces over 90 lakh tonnes of plastics.
Secretary of the All India Plastics Manufacturers’ Association, Hiten Behda, said that most of manufacturers fall in the small and medium enterprises category and do not get adequate bank loans for meeting their working capital requirements. He further suggested that the cap on bank loans should be removed and credit should move more freely to the industry.
Behda stressed that the import duty on polymers, a raw material for the industry, should be reduced from 7.5 to 5 per cent. By adding further, he said that domestic industry is also facing competition from manufacturers in China and Thailand as they are dumping their cheap goods in the Indian market. Therefore, the government must immediately levy a 20 percent duty on finished plastic goods. Suggesting further, the anti-dumping duty on PVC resin to be completely scrapped, added that Indian plastic manufacturer are getting loans with interest rates as high as 18 percent, while the Chinese interest rates are at 7 per cent.
