The government is preparing a strategy to help plastics and other petrochemical industries expand in Africa and Latin America.
Officials connected with foreign trade policy said these industries would get assistance under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme and the Market Access Initiative (MAI) programmes of the commerce ministry.
While the plan for Latin America is not clear, the Plastic Export Promotion Council proposes to double exports to Africa over five years. At present, exports to the continent are a tenth of the total. The council’s report says the plastic industry in Africa is engaged mainly in manufacturing and processing of semi-finished films and sheets into finished goods for packaging and stationery. Therefore, the focus of exports will be regions where manufacturing activity is high but which depend on other countries for raw materials, such as South Africa, Tanzania, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Congo.
The government will fund the costs of export promotion, including participation in trade fairs and logistics, under MDA. Under the revised MAI scheme, marketing projects such as opening of showrooms, warehouses, displays in international departmental stores, publicity and participation in trade fairs can be funded.
Total world exports of plastic to Africa were $12 billion in 2009, of which exports from India were worth $45 million. Major plastic products exported from India include brushes, ropes, cords, electric items, floor coverings, houseware, moulded and extruded items, monofilaments, nets, optical fibre items, synthetic fibres, packaging items, photo films, plastic sheets, films, plastic raw materials ranging from polymers to scrap, school and office stationery, self-adhesive sheets, stoppers, tarpaulins, pipes, tubes, hoses and woven sacks.
