The demand for soda ash was steadily growing and even today there is a demand-supply gap of around 20-25 per cent. bulk of the demand growth would come from the detergent industry, followed by glass manufacturers.
The total demand of soda ash from various industries was around 2.1 million tons, which included domestic and exports demand. However, costs would be crucial for the domestic industry.
Total investment in the industry was around Rs 6000 crore and the major players in the industry were Tata Chemicals, Saurashtra Chemicals, DCW and GHCL. The newest entrant in the field was Nirma.
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The last, a major detergent producer, took up the saod ash project as a backward integration step, with the unit proiducing primarily for Nirma brand detergents.
Export of soda ash was around 70,000 tons at present. The target countries included Bangladesh, UAE, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. Export prices ranged between $90-95 per ton before freight. In the last quarter, the industry exported around 46,000 tons to these countries.
The sharp increase in export was likely to be sustained. The quality of Indian soda ash was comparable to the best in the world standards, and competitive cost would be the major driver behind any rise in exports.
Imported soda ash was not perceived to be aproblem. Indian industry was competitive and would be able to counter foreign players, said sources.
Confirming that the entire industry was attacking costs aggressively, R Mukundan,chief operating officer of Tata Chemicals Ltd (TCL), Mithapur, said,