The inaugural session of the first edition of “ChemConnect 2022”, Logistics and Supply Chain Event, organized by Indian Chemical News (ICN) on September 21, 2022 at The Lalit, Mumbai, is going to have an in-depth focus on chemical logistics in India focusing on policy and infrastructure gap and opportunities.

The session titled "Chemical Logistics: Policy, Infrastructure Gap, and Opportunity" on September 21, 2022 will witness leading experts of industry discussing the various key aspects related to logistics in the Indian chemical and petrochemical industry. One can register as a delegate by clicking on the link (https://www.indianchemicalnews.com/chem-connect/register).

The topics to be covered at the inaugural session of the event include mapping the infrastructure gap in chemical logistics; implications for the chemical industry's growth in India; developing a sense market size, economic impact and employability; organised and unorganised players in chemical logistics; opportunities and growth in chemical logistics market; policy support and such initiatives from the government; and initiatives from within the industry and logistics players.

The prominent speakers from the industry at the session include: Rupark Sarswat, CEO, India Glycols; Dr. Jayachandran Nair, CEO, GPC India; Ravikumar Nair, Senior Vice President – Logistics, Petrochemical Business, Reliance Industries Ltd; Shekhar Khanolkar, Independent Business Advisor; and Padma Shri Prof. (Dr.) G. D. Yadav, Emeritus Professor of Eminence, Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai. The session will be moderated by Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News.

The conference themed as ‘Creating a Robust Ecosystem’ has lined up the country's top industry captains for the most comprehensive dialogue on key topics. Cutting across a number of business sessions, the conference will help develop the most meaningful and business-enabling idea exchange that will seek to further government and industry's growth aspirations. The discussions will help curate a comprehensive review of the chemical logistics sector, understanding the challenges as well as the opportunity that the segment offers.

The global chemical logistics market is valued at over US $265 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow over US $371 billion by 2030 growing at a CAGR of 4 percent. On the other hand, the global chemicals industry market size is US $4.5 trillion. This puts the chemical logistics market at approximately 6% of the global chemicals industry market size.

Looking at the global numbers and the higher transportation cost in the country, Indian chemical logistics' current market size can be estimated in the region of US $15 billion and potentially US $70-75 billion market in the next decade.

India’s basic infrastructure gap in facilitating chemical logistics encompasses from railways and roadways to waterways and pipelines and beyond. Limitations in rail and road transportation, port specific challenges like higher turnaround time to draft issues, lag in multi-mode connectivity to and from industrial complexes, PCPIR and ports and other such factors cannot just drag down productivity but also impact quality and competitiveness of Indian chemical products globally. Furthermore, chemical transportation is a complex task in India. Pilferages, warehousing, lengthy supply lines, safety concerns, and fragmented logistics market are chemical logistics challenges. 

Despite promising market trends and micro and macro indicators, the gaps in chemical logistics can severely constrain growth and development of the sector. Therefore, for the sector to realize this growth and for the country the much talked about 'PM Gati Shakti', enabling logistical infrastructure to support chemical industry growth will be a critical imperative going forward.

The event is supported by platinum partner Netradyne, gold partners - Carbanio, Moglix, and DriveBuddy AI, regulatory knowledge partner - GPC, tech partner Ezbiz Technologies, and media partner Indian Pharma Post.