Kolkata: The country's plastic industry is reeling under severe disruptions due to the West Asia crisis, with a 50%-70% surge in raw material costs, supply uncertainties, and rising logistics and fuel challenges significantly impacting MSMEs' margins, working capital cycles, and overall operations. These concerns were raised by the Indian Plastics Federation (IPF) in a webinar titled ‘Navigating Polymer Pricing & Availability: Industry Insights for Uncertain Times,' on Monday. The webinar was moderated by IPF president Amit Kumar Agarwal.
During the session, industry stakeholders reflected their worries on volatile pricing, inconsistent supply, elongated delivery timelines and mounting financial stress. They emphasised urgent strategic interventions such as cost optimisation, diversification of sourcing, disciplined inventory management, and stronger risk mitigation framework to navigate the ongoing uncertainty.
Agarwal said: "This is not just volatility — it is a systemic disruption impacting the entire value chain. Industry alignment, timely decision-making, and strong policy support are critical to ensuring continuity and long-term resilience."
The federation's members welcomed govt's duty reduction as a timely and impactful intervention as they believe that it will help ease input cost pressures, improve liquidity and provide much-needed breathing space to MSMEs.