'South, largest mkt for PET bottles'

South India has emerged as the largest consumer of 'poly ethylene terephthalate' (PET) material for packaging mineral water, a senior Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) official said here.

Delivering the inaugural address of a seminar on the 'Importance of Packaging in Bottled Water Industry', RIL general manager Hemant Gupta pointed out that over the last decade the demand from mineral water packaging companies for PET was on the rise.

"PET is a safe material as it does not react with food or water. Besides, it has a long shelf life. South India has emerged as the largest market for PET material as consumption of mineral water is high in this region. This has been necessitated due to poor water resources in South India," he added.

In PET consumption, South India commands a market share of 48 per cent while West India accounts for 28 per cent. North and East India, both have a combined market share of 24 per cent.

"In the '80s, PVC was the packaging material for bottled water. The shift to PET happened during 1995. The PET growth rate has been rising rapidly thereafter. During 2001-02, it registered 16 per cent growth," Gupta explained.

He said PET could be recycled into secondary products such as fibre and injection moulded items. "RIL is a net importer as well as a net buyer of PET waste. It is environment-friendly and is the most favoured material for packaging mineral water," he noted.

Later, Tejkamal Trade Links Private Ltd announced the launch of Blue ? a packaged drinking water product. Speaking on the occasion, the firm's chairman and managing director Vipin Kumar claimed that Blue was the only company to pioneer one-time usage of the water can.

"A new can (20 litres) will be delivered to the customer for every order. Besides, we are the only bottled water manufacturer in the country to be certified for HACCP 15000," he added.