- 60 percent of all MSME units have turned sick in Gujarat: Jaimin Vasa, president of GCA.
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JUNE 19
National Chemical Conference on the theme “India Trillion Dollar Economy: Role of Chemical Industries in Navigating the future” was organized by the Gujarat Chemical Association to mark its 75 years Anniversary or Platinum Jubilee here on Saturday.
It is a co-incident that Gujarat Chemical Association’s 75 years celebrations is also in line with Government of India’s “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations, said Jaimin Vasa, president of GCA.
The key note address topic was “Future of Chemical Industries in India.”
Panel discussions on “India the new battleground for global Chemicals Manufacturing, Support the industry seeks from policy-makers,” “Making Chemical industry clean with Green Chemistry for Sustainable growth,” and “Growth and sustainability of MSME in Chemical and Pharmaceutical” were also held.
Globally, India is the fourth-largest producer of agrochemicals after the United States of America (USA), Japan and China. India accounts for 16% of the world production of dyestuffs and dye intermediates. Indian colorants industry has emerged as a key player with a global market share of 15%. The country’s chemicals industry is de-licensed, except for few hazardous chemicals. India holds a strong position in exports and imports of chemicals at a global level and ranks 14th in exports and 8th in imports at global level (excluding pharmaceuticals).
The domestic chemicals sector’s small and medium enterprises are expected to showcase 18-23% revenue growth in FY22, owing to an improvement in domestic demand and higher realisation due to high prices of chemicals. India’s proximity to the Middle East, the world’s source of petrochemicals feedstock, enables it to benefit on economies of scale.
The chemical industry is going through major transformations driven by consolidation—as a result of major mergers, adaptation to increasingly demanding regulations, great volatility in prices, and increasingly complex and interconnected supply chains, said GCA officials.
MSMEs bear the brunt of high input costs in Gujarat
The Gujarat’s chemical MSMEs have cut their production by 50 percent due to the staggering rise in prices of raw materials.
According to the report by the Gujarat Chemical Association (GCA), out of 11,000-odd units in the state, which account for nearly 40 percent of India’s chemical output, almost a third have turned sick, with overall production down by 50 percent due to several factors, including input cost and freight rate hikes.
“Not only has production fallen due to multiple factors, but nearly 60 percent of all MSME units have turned sick as well”, said Jaimin Vasa, president of GCA.
The chemical industry has seen a decline in cost competitiveness decline and a fund crunch as well. So we have asked the government and banks for some sort of stop-gap arrangement,” he added.
