The Hindu Business Line : Plastics export council to set up warehouse centres in US

EYEING the attractive $200-billion consumer plastic product market in the US, the Plastics Export Promotion Council proposes to set up warehouse-centres in Los Angeles and New York from where Indian companies can cater to the market there.

These two cities account for a major part of the demand for plastic consumer products. It is also found that distributors and dealers in these two cities are more receptive to products of Indian origin.

These warehouses would double up as display centres, showcasing the Indian products to the retailers. The Rs 16-crore initiative would also help Indian companies create a base from where they could tap South American and Caribbean markets.

About 60 per cent of the project cost would be borne by the Union Government. At present, the Council is in the process of identifying its members who could join the project.

The move followed a detailed market study conducted in the US to identify the potential and ways to tap the market.

The study was carried out under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) programme of the Ministry of Commerce.

"Indian companies have got great opportunity there as India's share in the plastics sector is a minuscule 0.25 per cent," the survey said.

The main objective of this initiative is to grow the exports of plastic consumer products from the current levels of $130 million to the US to $500 million in four to five years. Thereafter, the council foresaw a consistent growth rate of around 20 per cent a year.

After setting up warehouses in the two major cities in the first phase, the Council would go to Miami, a major wholesale hub for consumer products. "From here products can be distributed to the South American as well as the Caribbean markets apart from the Southern region of the US," it said.

Explaining the philosophy behind setting up such centres, Mr R.P. Kalyanpur, Executive Director of Plexconcil, said these centres would ensure the ability to cater to smaller quantities at better prices and quicker lead time.

Apart from stock holding, these centres would also provide platform for Indian companies to take part in international trade shows and organise buyer-seller meets in market hotbeds.

Products primarily identified initially are school, home, office stationery, household articles and gifts and novelties.

The Council found that the main competition came from India's neighbourhood - China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand who account for close to 50 per cent of the entire US imports.

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