Plastic goods get dearer as war, raw material hoarding take toll

Chennai: Prices of plastic containers, chairs and other consumer durables are set to witness a 10% to 20% hike, as the raw material cost per kg has surged 70%, mainly due to the West Asia war.Traders said the impact of the price rise has already trickled down to the city's core markets. "Rates of small plastic products such as buckets and cups have increased by 5 to 20. Plastic chairs, costing 500, now cost 550. PVC plastics, mainly pipe products, have also been impacted. In the coming weeks, it will rise further," said Anees Raja, president, broadway merchants association.While large restaurant chains and outlets have not reported any hike yet, in small and medium eateries in the city, the cost of containers and wrapping papers have witnessed a hike of 2 to 3, reflecting in takeaways. "We expect a 30% hike in all products in the coming week if the situation persists. Hotels are grappling with the LPG shortage. This will add to the burden on traders as well as the customers," said R Rajkumar, secretary, Chennai hotel association.While the war has affected supply, industry stakeholders said the hoarding of raw material by a section of traders has led to the price rise.Tamil Nadu, Pondy plastic association president G Sankaran said, "About 95% of plastic manufacturers comprise small and micro industries, who are not supplied raw material for production directly. They buy it through traders, who hoard stock to accelerate demand and sell the stock at a higher price. Within the first week of crisis, cost per kg of raw material rose from 100 to 108. Now, it stands at 170."To mitigate the crisis, the association has urged the govt to supply raw material directly to MSMEs at a fixed cost until the situation eases. "Among them, MSMEs purchasing less than 20 tonnes a month must be prioritised. Plastic raw material must also be brought under the Essential Commodities Act," he added.