27-09-2012, 01:06 PM
PACKAGING INDUSTRY IN INDIA
PACKAGING INDUSTRY.pdf (Size: 66.15 KB / Downloads: 83)
Introduction:
All major industries create wealth but if there is one industry that plays a unique role by way of
both creation of wealth through a wide range of manufacturing activities and also by way of
preserving the wealth or value created by many, many other industries, it is packaging.
Apart from the huge value addition and employment involved in these activities, packaging has
served the Indian economy by helping preservation of the quality and lengthening the shelf life
of innumerable products - ranging from milk and biscuits, to drugs and medicines, processed
and semi-processed foods, fruits and vegetables, edible oils, electronic goods etc., besides
domestic appliances and industrial machinery and other hardware needing transportation.
With water becoming a consumer product, polymer material-based bottles are becoming a
universal presence.
Packaging, as distinct from mere “packing”, plays it’s most visible and catalytic role in a
modern economy with the widespread adoption of branding of products and development of
consumer preferences. To the extent that any consumer product is packaged in a manner that
meets the criteria of safety, convenience and attractiveness, it gains market share. In the
aggregate, packaging as a sectoral activity boosts consumption and economic growth.
Heightened competition in all product sectors within the country as also the increasing need to
look for export markets have contributed to the rising demand for appropriate, and at the same
time cost-effective, packaging material and technologies.
Indian Packaging Industry Market:
The Indian packaging industry itself is growing at 14-15% annually. This growth rate is
expected to double in the next two years.
Indian Packaging industry is USD 14 billion and growing at more than 15% p.a. These
figures indicate towards a change in the industrial and consumer set up.
However, the Indian fascination for rigid packaging remains intact. It is estimated that more
than 80% of the total packaging in India constitutes rigid packaging, which is the oldest and
the most conventional form of packaging. The remaining 20% comprises flexible packaging.
Rigid packaging constitutes glass bottles, metal cans, aerosol cans, battery cell cans,
aluminum collapsible tubes, injection moulded plastic containers made of PVC, PET, HOPE,
barrels made from HOPE, paperboards, and corrugated boxes.
However, with the expanding middle class and rising income levels, the patterns of
consumption are bound to change substantially and the demand for quality and
convenience-based products will increase. Concurrently, the increased interaction with the
developed world will considerably influence the aesthetic and quality norms of the Indian
consumer and lead to better consumption standards. This is expected to stimulate greater
consumption of branded products and increase the use of rigid and flexible packaging.
Pharmaceutical Packaging & Situation in India
Pharmaceutical packaging occupies a considerable portion of the overall drugs and
pharmaceutical market in India and is growing steadily with the same pace of the industry.
Pharmaceutical packaging consists of various types of glass, pet bottles, strip and blister packs,
injectibles, ampoules, bulk packs, etc.
The Indian pharmaceutical packaging industry is witnessing a spurt in growth. Today, the
packaging industry in India is considered a sunrise industry and its linkages are extensive and
highly employment creating. On one side, it involves manufacture (and sometimes import) of a
wide range of packing material - paper, paperboard, cardboard, a range of polymer products
including rigid and flexible packaging material, aluminium foil, tin and good old wood and
steel. Other backward linkages of packaging including printing, labeling and binding/adhesive
tapes etc. Of course, machinery for making/processing these products and for
packing/packaging is another segment closely linked to this industry.