Indian polymer demand still slow amid extended curbs

Demand for polymer resin in India continues to slow amid transport restrictions and the shutdown of plastic conversion plants, with at least 85pc of plants shut.

Demand for polypropylene (PP) took a hit when cement packaging and automotive manufacturing stalled.

Passenger car production fell by 44pc in March from a year earlier to 122,037 vehicles. The volume was the lowest in more than a decade, even as the lockdown only began on 25 March.

Prime minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown, from 14 April to 3 May.

Most domestic polyethylene (PE) and PP producers, who had tried operating their plants at lower rates, shut their plants completely as slowing demand expanded inventories.

Local producers slashed domestic prices of PE and PP to boost sales, but demand remained at a standstill because of transport curbs and significantly-lower conversion activities.

Private-sector Haldia Petrochemicals and fellow state-owned producers Indian Oil, Gail and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals stopped operations of all polymers plants.

Local Indian producers such as Opal and Reliance that targeted the export market during the lockdown maintained PE and PP production, likely at lower rates.

Import discussions for polymers are likely to remain slow in India in the short term because of high local inventories and as Covid-19 restrictions curb local demand.

Prices of linear low-density polyethylene and PP in India were $670/t and $710/t cfr respectively on 9 April, according to Argus data.

By Yee Ying Ang