Indian petrochemicals sector today

24 October 2001

General highlights 

• The petrochemical industry is a capital-intensive and high-volumes industry. The demand elasticity is high in petrochemicals.
  

• The raw material cost is the major expense any petrochemical industry has to endure. The raw material cost generally accounts for 50 per cent of the selling price.
  

• Consumption in SE Asian countries (Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan) has been severely affected after the global economic slowdown.
  

• In a country like India, where the middle-class segment is growing at a rapid space, demand is expected to grow at a high rate.
  

• There are only three major players: Reliance Industries, Nocil and IPCL. All the three companies have fully-integrated plants.