The Indian Chemical Council (ICC), India’s largest and apex body representing the chemical sector feels that the entire Chemical & Petrochemical (C&PC) sector value chain should be declared as essential during the current COVID-19 led lockdown period.
The Chemical & Petrochemical sector in India provides inputs for essential products such as pharmaceuticals, agricultural, hygiene and healthcare. The chemical industry in India has multiple cross-linkages to other industries and thus it is a critical industry in the value chain of essential goods like food, edible oils, drugs, fertilizers, among others.
The chemical industry is the industry of industries and is currently suffering due the global lockdown because of the rapid outbreak of the current epidemic. Many essential supplies from C&PC sector are either stuck at various checkpoints in the country or the manufacturers are not able to produce even if they are permitted to operate, due to their employees not being able to report to work.
According to Indian Chemical Council, “Chemicals have a direct interface with essential commodities like pharmaceuticals. For instance, very few realize that key raw materials for manufacturing of paracetamol, an essential drug, include a large number of chemicals like benzene, sulphur, caustic, chlorine, hydrogen, nitric acid, sulphuric acid, acetic anhydride. Due to lockdown of the majority of C&PC plants, many of paracetamol plants are being forced to shut."
"Also, polymers are life-saving with applications in catheters, blood transfusion pipes, blood bags, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), etc. Therefore the plastic downstream industry should also be treated essential due to its vast application in agriculture, potable water, food, process flow etc. Chemical plants in China, Korea, Taiwan, Europe and the US are already operational, as they consider chemicals as essential,” added ICC.
Foodgrains, the most essential commodity for any country, cannot continue its production without judicious usage of agrochemicals and fertilizers. Irrigation process in agriculture is also suffering without durable and economical water pipes.
On highlighting the operational aspect of the sector, Indian Chemical Council said, “In most continuous processes, there is a certain minimum turndown ratio, i.e. the minimum percentage of rated capacity that a plant can operate which can vary from 50-80%, depending on the product. Also, continuous process plants cannot be easily stopped and started.”
While domestic demand in other countries has dropped sharply as also exports, the inventory is piling up. This poses a dumping danger for countries like India. Export incentives provided by many countries will further add burden to the industry in India.
ICC strongly recommends the chemical sector should be declared as essential and be exempt from lockdown.
