Chemicals, Plastics, Construction Materials Industry and Allied Products Exports to Touch US$ 42bn by 2020

Press Release CAP India 2017

03 Mar 2017

Second Edition of CAP India 2017 To Kick Off On March 21, 2017

“China’s slowing Down Makes Indian Products Globally Competitive” says Shri. Sunil Kumar, IAS, Joint Sec. Department of Commerce

Mumbai, February 28, 2017: Promoting exports has been the cornerstone of Government’s ‘Make in India’ mission. Enhancing domestic production and ensuring demand in the global markets for Indian products are the two key aspects of this mission.

In a major initiative to boost exports of chemicals, plastics, construction materials Industry and allied products, the Ministry of Commerce& Industry, Govt. of India today formally launched the second edition of CAPINDIA 2017 under the aegis of Department of Commerce. The 2-day event on March 21-22, 2017 at Mumbai is jointly organized by CHEMEXCIL, PLEXCONCIL, CAPEXIL and SHEFEXIL. The event will witness around 200 overseas buyers and is first of its kind in India. Presented as India’s platform to global markets, the event will showcase the complete value chain with several Indian and international buyers expected to explore investment and global trade opportunities. This initiative is to fuel the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ vision.

Speaking at the curtain raiser of the event, Shri Sunil Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India said“The Government’s Union Budget 2017-18focuses on boosting the trade and industry. It is a growth-oriented budget with a long term vision. Most associations and bodies representing commerce and industry have welcomed the reduction in corporate tax for MSME by 5% and introduction of Trade Infrastructure Export Scheme..The aim is to help Indian exporters to become globally competitive.”

Other initiatives like setting up of CBEC’s Single Window Clearance System (SWIFT), Make in India programme, relaxation in certain norms of environmental issue and expected GST roll out are expected to spur growth in Chemical Sector.

He added, “India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow at 7.7% in FY 2016-17 and slowly accelerate to 8% in FY 2018-19, driven by the speedy implementation of structural reforms, higher disposable income and improved economic activity.”

He further said “Despite the adverse global economic scenario, we need to aggressively increase our market share in the global market. To fulfill this vision, the Department of Commerce has been supporting industry through the Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) under various export promotion schemes.

The ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ initiative coupled with the commitment to facilitate ease of doing business, particularly relevant to exports, makes it imperative to step up our marketing efforts.”

The Government of India is continuously facilitating to ensure that our growth trajectory remains intact at over 7.5% growth in GDP. The benefits from reforms & governance, trade facilitation and ensuring the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ are potentially large and will help India offset the slowdown of other economies.

“With Government of India’s ambitious target of achieving an exports of USD 900 billion by 2020, Chemicals, plastics and allied products will certainly play a major role. Currently, the sector accounts for exports of US$ 32 billion with a significant scope of growth. We are working closely with the industry players and would soon implement a series of blue ocean strategies to enhance opportunities for investments and boosting Indian exports. With China slowing down and our Foreign Trade Policy is much simplified, we are confident of making Indian products globally competitive.”

The Indian Chemical industry’s output makes it the 3rd largest producer in Asia and 6th by output in the world. The industry plays a vital role, accounting for about 2.11%of GDP. India’s contribution is approximately 16% of the world’s dyestuff and dye intermediates production, particularly in reactive acid and direct dyes.

Mr. Satish Wagh, Chairman, CHEMEXCIL said “At present, India's global contribution is at a nascent stage. The last few decades have witnessed the chemical industry gravitating towards Asia, making India a key player in the global markets. India is the world’s third largest consumer of polymers and fourth largest producer of agrochemicals. The Indian chemical industry is one of the most diversified sectors and covers more than 80,000 commercial products. The global chemical industry, estimated at U.S. $ 4.3 trillion, with Indian chemical industry’s accounting for US$ 147 billion in 2015. The Indian chemical industry is expected to grow to US $226 billion by 2020. CAPINDIA 2017 will help penetrate existing and new export markets such as EU, USA, Africa, Middle East, and Asian countries.

Mr. Satish Wagh further added that“Government has allowed 100% FDI to boost manufacturing activities in Chemical Sector which provides employment to more than 2 million people. Exports of CHEMEXCIL items has declined from USD 12.66 billion to 11.66 billion i.e.by 7.9 % for the year 2015-16 in terms of value, there is remarkable growth of 10.64 % in volume of exports which is the positive sign for exports.

CAPINDIA 2017' key objective is to showcase the capabilities of potential sectors and serve as a strong networking platform between players around the globe.

Mr. Pradip Thakkar, Chairman, Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL) said “The Indian plastics industry has made significant progress over the years, rapidly growing, diversifying and continually innovating. This sector employs over4 million people and comprises of more than 30000 processing units. SME’s constitute 85-90% presence in this sector. India’s exports of plastics and plastics products was around US$ 7.63 billion in FY 2015-16. The major exports are to USA, UAE, Germany, UK, Italy, Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Nepal and many more developed and developing countries.”

Mr. Pradip Thakkar further said “The Plastics sector could not register a growth in the past two years in value terms due to fall in prices consequent to drop in crude oil prices. But in terms of volumes, the sector has registered a double digit growth, despite the global economic slowdown. The silver lining is that, the plastic value added items has witnessed robust positive growth over the last three years. Our target for plastics exports is expected to touch US$ 10 billion by 2020.“

He added “In order to boost plastics sector exports, the Department of Commerce has expanded the list of plastic items which are eligible for MEIS benefits. He appealed to expand this list to include the ones being left out. The opening up of the Medical Devices sector by permitting FDI up to 100% under the automatic route for manufacturing was a welcome initiative made by DIPP to tap the export potential of this sector. The Medical Devices made of plastics fall under the purview of our Council. India being a major market for healthcare services, foresees this sector as a huge potential for exports.”

Mr. Ramesh K Mittal, Chairman, CAPEXIL said “The construction materials current exports stands at US$ 13.02 billion. We expect our exports to touch US$ 18.21 billion by 2020, We expect cement, cement products, glass & glassware, ceramic & refractories, plywood and wood products, paints and allied products, granite marble and natural stones to significantly contribute to exports. To achieve our projected growth target, we plan to organize ‘Made in India’ shows in key markets. Besides, we would make active participation in prominent industry specific trade shows and expositions worldwide with CAPEXIL India Pavilion. The markets that we are planning to tap during CAP INDIA 2017 exhibition include Latin America, African, ASEAN and some European markets like France and Germany”.

Mr. Mittal further said “India is the second largest producer of cement in the world. In the coming decade, India is well positioned to become the key exporter of clinker and grey cement to the Middle East, Africa and other developing nations of the world.”

Mr. Sumit Kr. Ghosh, Chairman, SHEFEXIL said “We expect our exports to grow from the current 2 bn USD to 3 bn USD by 2020”.

Mr. Sunil Kumar further added, “We sincerely appreciate this unique collaboration by four of our export promotion councils. While sharing a common vision of ‘Make in India’ for the world, this presents an opportunity for India to straddle the complete chemical value chain enjoy the pole position as the Factory of the World to pip China. We have the manpower, expertise, enterprise, natural resources and the right policy environment to emerge as the global manufacturing hub.’

Manufacturers and exporters of industrial and agricultural inputs covering a range of basic chemicals, Dyes and Dye intermediate, speciality chemicals, plastic products, Books, Publications and Printing, Paints, Printing Ink and Allied Products, Paper, Paper Board, paints, printing inks, glues, pigments, varnishes, guar gum powder, medicinal herbs/extracts etc. will be showcased during the event. Also on display will be packaging items, consumer items covering house ware, writing instruments, stationery items, cosmetics and toiletries, essential oils etc. besides plastics processing machinery. CAPINDIA is expected to make Chemicals, Plastics, construction Industry and Allied Products trade a major contributor to the country’s export growth and development.