International Market News

	Yuanxu Packing staff with pallet wrapping machines.

Chinese companies are vying for a share of this potentially huge market.

Yuanxu Packing Machinery (Shanghai) is among the players that participated at the India Packaging Show 2011 in Delhi last month.

Yuanxu Packing showcased its range of pallets, pipes, coils and tyre wrapping machines. The company has developed a small customer base since it tapped into the Indian market in 2005. "We are competitively priced at US$3,000 for each pallet wrapping machine," said one manager. "We would like to have an agent in India as we see India's packaging story unfold."

Another China player at the show was Shenzhen Gurki Packaging Machine, which had on display its range of carton erector machines and automatic or semi-automatic carton sealer machines. In the Indian market for two years, the company has 10 clients and is also in the process of appointing an agent for the Indian packaging sector.

Shenzhen Gurki Packaging Machine staff member with sealers.		Zhang of Shenzhen Zhengxing Adhesive Product: price decides.

Shenzhen Zhengxing Adhesive Product, a firm which makes the Topbond brand of high precision adhesive tape for cartons and other packaging applications, attracted several visitors.

"The main area of concern is that customers are unable to decipher the quality of our products," said Allen Zhang, Sales Manager. "Price is an important deciding factor in India. Comparably, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are easier markets."

This could well be true because Indian consumers - both industry and households - have generally been exposed to low priced - and consequently - low quality goods.

Enthusiastic buyers

Sharma: strong customer base.

"In business for the last 12 years, we have built a strong customer base," said Sanjeev Sharma, Director of Shri Vinayak Packaging Machine, owner of the Swift Pack brand.

Another Indian company at the event was Baishide Touch, which introduced paper cup and plate forming machines and non-woven bag manufacturing machines from the Chinese mainland.

	Seth: sourcing in China.

"Usage of certain plastics is banned in packaging and carrier bags. This has given a boost to alternative packaging materials, especially non-woven bags. The response to our machines has been very encouraging, as these meet the quality and price points that an Indian customer looks for," said Sanjay Seth, Director of Baishide.

The company had already sold 200 paper cup and plate forming machines and 300 non-woven bag manufacturing machines. "Touch is the number one company in China in this segment, and has received an excellent response in India," Seth added.

The current import duty of 27% on individual machines has not made them any less competitive, it seems.

Indian companies adopt suitable strategies

Automation favours China's machines.

"India's per capita consumption of processed foods is much lower compared to developed countries and this limits the growth of the Indian packaging industry. Automation also lags in this sector. As consumption increases, we expect growth to touch between 20% and 25% per annum, by 2020," forecast NC Saha, Director of the Indian Institute of Packaging.

India's per capita consumption of packaging materials is around 0.5 kg, compared to between 10 and 15 kg per capita in developed countries such as Australia, Japan and the US.

India imports up to 25% of its packaging machinery requirements. Machinery imports are worth about US$150 million.

To exploit the potential of the Indian market, companies are exploring various growth models.

	Sabharwal: vertically integrated.

For packaging machines, the company had entered into a partnership with Italy's MRG Grafomac, which was eventually taken over by UFlex.

Innovation for pharma packing

Sandeep Goyal, Founder and CEO of Indian consultancy Sanex Packaging Connections, said: "there's a huge array of materials and packaging solutions that are unavailable in the country."

Goyal (right): unexplored potential.

Sanex has helped to launch such products. Along with Haselmeier of Switzerland the company developed Insupen, an insulin pen made of metal instead of plastic.

While plastics and laminated plastics dominated the show, tin packaging also had a strong presence.

Rahul Agarwal, Director of JJ Enterprise, the country's largest manufacturer of tin cans, and tin packagings, said: "we are definitely seeing a lot of interest in tin packs today as the processed food industry in India grows. Producers of baby foods, milk powders, processed meats and fish, and also lifestyle products such as watches, prefer tin packages."

Sustainable market

	Aerosol spray cans driving growth.

Said Goyal: "there's always interest investing in innovation, technology and sustainability but these don't materialise in reality. Internationally, there are developments happening in green plastics, but this has not yet reached India."

Industry experts believe education in design relating to the packaging field needs to become more specialised, to cater to the diverse needs across various industries. Also, design is a subject needing to be given more prominence, they suggest.

from special correspondent Reena Mital, Mumbai