According to the Plastic & Linoleums Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil), Kanpur Plastipack faces a duty of 4.3 per cent while Buildmet bears a burden of 15.6 per cent. Shankar Packaging faces a 6.1 per cent duty, Polyspin Exports and Polyspin 13.8 per cent and Aditya, TDI and Virgo 10.5 each.

The residual duty is 36 per cent.

Plastic woven sack is the fourth important item on the list of exports of plastic related goods after plastic molded and extruded goods; polyester films and plastic raw materials. Plastic woven sacks comprises of some nine per cent of the total plastic related exports.

During the seven-month period ended October 1998, exports of plastic woven sacks/fabrics/bags were of the order of $25.66 million, which was slightly higher than $25 million in the same period last year.

However, the target for this product during 1998-99 isset at $61 million.

The council has taken up the cases of these and few other companies (whose names are yet to be released) with the concerned European officials to review the levy of the anti-dumping proceedings under the newcomer review policy.

The newcomer review helps the concerned companies to get a relief from EU authorities if they are convinced that the companies exporting plastic woven sacks are new and were not in existence/ or were not exporting the goods when the EU's anti-dumping norms were finalised.

Like exports of other plastic related goods, export target for woven sacks fabrics too is unlikely to be met, partly because of the anti dumping duties levied by the European nations.

The EC officials have assured Plexconcil that all Indian companies which have not exported during the period of investigation and now want to apply for a newcomer review could do so to avail lower duties than levied.

Subject to usual conditions, these companies would be granted newcomer status with weightedaverage to the duties imposed on the cooperating companies.

The duties on Indian companies being lower than Thailand, Indonesia and China, our competitive edge would not be seriously eroded if they get the recomer status.

"This way, instead of paying higher customs duties to the EU, the exporters can increase their export price," feels Plexconcil executive director RP Kalyanpur.

Addressing Plexconcil members recently in Mumbai, Union commerce joint secretary N Ravi had said that the exports of plastic raw materials appear to be significant over the last five years.

But these have been reactive and like some other sectors exports appear to have taken place on the basis of a strategy of trying to sell the marketable surplus of domestic production over domestic consumption.

Therefore, plastics sector exports reflects need for a more focused formulation of a strategy for producing goods exclusively for exports.

However, hoping to draw the attention of the government as to why exports of the plasticsector are declining, the Plexconcil has informed the government that following instances of non-tariff barriers are affecting exports from this sector:

* Plastic woven sacks -- The European Union's anti-dumping duty at residual duty of 36 per cent

* Synthetic fibre ropes -- EU anti dumping duty at 53 per cent on Garware Ropes and 82 per cent on others

* PET Films -- A complaint (injury petition) from domestic producers of PET film in Europe is pending with the EC against Indian exports

* Polyester film -- domestic producers in the USA have filed a general system of preference (GSP) petition for removing Indian polyester film from GSP benefits in the USA

* HDPE woven fabrics / sacks and ropes / twines /cordage -- these items are unfortunately in the textile category under the US customs and therefore coming under the quota regime. There is no quota available exclusively for the above plastic materials.

Therefore, though there is enough demand for these items, exports is not possible to quotarestrictions. Lastly, the Plexconcil has also called for some important changes in the Exim policy to boost exports from the plastic sector (see FE CommodityWatch, February 8, 1999).