The All India Plastics Manufacturers Association (AIPMA) has urged the government to take steps to enable the plastic processing industry, which comprises of a large number of MSME units, to cope with the increased polymer costs due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. The association has urged the government to issue a clear advisory for the polymer producing industry to maintain stability in prices and has sought a “survival support package” for MSME units to sustain production, which are facing imminent closure. Plastics are used by a wide range of sectors, including FMCG and consumer products, healthcare and automobiles.

“The Plastic Processing Industry in India is currently facing serious challenges due to global uncertainties, raw material price volatility and supply disruptions. The Plastics Raw Material Producers have increased the raw material prices five times from 1st March to 11th March. The price increase is to the tune of 59 per cent in 11 days. The Private and PSU polymer producers are raising the prices by almost same extent irrespective of their input whether they are Gas based or Naphtha based,” AIPMA stated in a letter sent recently to the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers

It stated that this is making it extremely difficult for the processing industry to meet the prior commitments for supplies to end users and ask them to match the increased prices which are prevailing in the market. “We cannot pass on the steep over 59 per cent price increase in last 11 days to the end users such as consumer articles, FMCG, Agriculture, Automobile and Healthcare sector,” it added. The industry body said that MSMEs of the plastic processing industry are not in a position to absorb or pass on such price increase to the end user.

Calling the price hikes by plastic polymer producers as “unreasonable,” the industry body noted “ Closure of our factories will lead to very high unemployment rate in the country. Lakhs of families are surviving based on the plastics processing sector which has approximately 50,000 units of which over 90 per cent are in the MSME sector,” AIPMA stated.

It has therefore asked the Ministry to issue a clear advisory for the Polymer producing Industry to maintain stability in prices and avoid panic in the market. It has also sought a “Survival Support Package” for MSME units to protect employment and sustain production besides facilitation of easier working capital and temporary relief in terms of duties/taxes till the geopolitical crisis ends.

Published on March 15, 2026