NEW DELHI – In a swift move to shield plastics and pharma makers from soaring costs, India axed import duties on 40 key petrochemicals until June 30, invoking emergency powers after rerouting local chemicals to plug cooking gas shortages triggered by the Iran conflict, a government statement announced April 2.
The exemption targets vital feedstocks like naphtha, ethane, and LPG derivatives, easing strains on downstream industries battered by global snarls. “This smart waiver tackles cost spikes head-on, offering relief to consumers as supply chains wobble,” noted Manish Sejwal, senior VP on Rystad Energy’s oil trading desk.
India, a hefty net importer of these essentials despite homegrown output, felt the pinch post-US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Authorities mandated firms divert petrochemical stocks to ramp up LPG production, vital as the world’s No. 2 buyer covers 60% of needs abroad. That pivot has squeezed producers with scarcer feedstocks, ballooning prices, and fat premiums echoing across Asia’s plastics and packaging hubs.
Petchem plants stutter under the dual hit of feedstock famine and output curbs, fueling wider manufacturing woes. The duty dodge buys breathing room, but as Hormuz tensions simmer and energy markets roil, India’s balancing act spotlights the war’s ripple from Mideast flares to Mumbai factories.