India’s petrochemical demand to remain robust in medium term: Report

New Delhi: India’s petrochemical consumption growth is expected to remain robust at 6-7 per cent per annum in the medium term, driven by economic expansion and downstream product demand, according to a report released on Monday. Against this backdrop, reducing reliance on imports is viewed as a key strategic aim. Consequently, both public and private-sector companies have developed aggressive plans to increase their petrochemical capacity, said the CareEdge Ratings report. Polypropylene capacity is expected to rise 1.8 times between FY25-FY30, surpassing the envisaged demand growth of 1.4 times, which could largely eliminate import dependence by FY30, the report states. “However, improving cost competitiveness, leading to a recovery in the trajectory of spreads and thereby earning reasonable returns on their investments, would remain the key monitorable for domestic petrochemical players,” said Rabin Bihani, Associate Director, CareEdge Ratings.