Introduction
Plastic has emerged as a highly useful substance and has almost taken place of iron, steel and other hard substances in normal household usage. With its enormous usages, plastic industry has flourished immensely in the whole world. Today, there are thousands of varieties of plastics, plastic products, plastic raw material, bags, plastic moulding equipments and sealing devices available in the markets. This has also effected the number of exporters, manufacturers and suppliers of plastic and plastic molding products in India.
Since 1862, when plastic was unveiled for the first time, this material has undergone an eventful journey, reaching a stage where it is used in cutting edge technologies such as space programs, bullet proofing and prosthetic limbs to everyday products such as beverage containers, medical devices and automobiles. The Indian plastics industry conforms to the levels of sophistication required to produce plastic and plastic products of international quality standards. The consumption of plastics in 1999 is estimated at 3 million tonnes which is likely to reach 8 million tonnes by the year 2006. The demand for plastics is growing approximately at the rate of 22% annually and plastics consumption in India is expected to increase from almost 2.7 million tons of various commodity plastics in 1998 to almost 8 million tons by 2006.
The plastics industry in India is considered a Sunrise Industry and has been exhibiting a consistent export growth rate in the past. Exports of Plastics during the year 1999-2000 were US$ 2570 million recording a growth of 16.17% over the previous year. Major export products of the plastic industry include the plastic molded extruded goods, polyester film, raw materials, laminates, plastic molded/ soft luggage items, plastic molded furniture, plastic sealing devices, writing instruments, plastic woven sacks, plastic bags, PVC leather cloth and sheeting. The top 10 trading partners for plastic products from India include USA, UAE, Italy, UK, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, China & Hong Kong.
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