PET turnover to touch Rs 15,000 cr in three years

R Ravichandran in Hyderabad

Despite the overall economic recession, the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) industry is in for a boom period. The growth in consumption by the various user industries and the geographical distribution patterns have seen the industry recording an annual growth of 25 per cent consistently for the last two years.

The sales volume of the total industry is expected to touch Rs 15,000 crore over a period of three years from the existing Rs 8,000 crore, the industry sources told The Financial Express.

The Indian PET consumption is very low at 0.04 kg per capita as against the world consumption level of 2.34 kg per capita. The consumption of PET is expected to touch 1,50,000
tonnes annually in next three years as against the 75,000 tonnes annually at present, according to the industry estimates.

The major players in the industry include Reliance with 80,000 tonnes capacity, followed by Futura, Pearl Engineering and Elgi Polyester. The last two decades have witnessed a sea change in various applications particularly in the packaging sector. The PET bottles are eco-friendly. It is totally inert and non-toxic and meets the USFDA, EU and BIS regulations for overall specific and migration tests, the sources claimed.

While carbonated beverages, mineral water and hot filled drinks are the driving force for promoting PET in a big way, the wide variation in the food habits in various parts of the country also plays a key role in the growth of PET industry, the sources said.

With the increase in population and the huge PET resin capacity there exists tremendous potential and developments are underway for tapping the demand in various sectors including water, food, agro-chemical, pharmaceutical, edible oils and household, the sources claimed.

Having the advantages such as flexibility in design, superior clarity, easy to handle, shatterproof, pure, lightweight and excellent barrier to moisture, oxygen, carbon dioxide and aroma, the consumption is expected to grow sharply over the years.