Ahmedabad: As temperatures begin their steep summer climb, the humble plastic water bottle is an Amdavadis’ most-reached-for lifeline. Whether at home, in the office, or even at paan shops, thirst is quenched with polyethene terephthalate (PET) bottles. But this season, that lifeline is under strain as the Israel-Iran conflict pushes up polymer prices and disrupts production.Gujarat’s plastic manufacturing sector — responsible for roughly 35% to 40% of India’s plastic output and home to more than 10,000 units — was hit by a sharp rise in polymer prices following the Israel-Iran conflict. Industry players say PET polymer prices jumped about 40% in just 12 days, straining production as demand for packaged drinking water bottles rose. Industry sources say the cost of a 200ml empty bottle rose from Rs 1.10 at the end of Feb to Rs 1.45 now, compressing distributor and retailer margins.According to the Gujarat State Plastic Manufacturers’ Association (GSPMA), polymer prices increased by Rs 18 per kg to Rs 32 per kg across products, creating working capital stress for small manufacturers, who are now unable to fulfil contracted orders. Nayan Shah, director of Clear Water Bottle, says, “There is a severe short supply of PET from refineries, and only organised players with long-term contracts are getting the supply. PET prices rose by 40% over the last fortnight. We have in-house manufacturing capacity of 75 lakh PET water bottles per day. Still, because of the short supply of raw material, we can manufacture only 50 lakh bottles per day.”The state’s packaged drinking water market is pegged at Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore, but organised players account for only about 20% of it. Kaumil Patel, a plastic manufacturer, said, “The steep price hike in raw materials affected small manufacturers badly. It reduced their raw material buying capacity by almost half, and it will impact overall supply.”Anish Patel, president of GSPMA, said, “At the end of Feb, the PET price was Rs 99,000 per tonne, which reached Rs 1.39 lakh per tonne. Also, the prices of HDPE and LLDPE, widely used in the plastic industry, increased by Rs 14,000 to Rs 24,000 per tonne. Polypropylene prices also increased by Rs 11,000 to Rs 23,000 per tonne since the war began. The raw material price hike will impact all the products, including water bottles, during the peak summer season.“That leaves the unorganised sector — thousands of small units and contractors — bearing the brunt of rising prices. Kaumil Patel says this segment is likely to be hit hardest in the coming days due to the surge in input costs. This dynamic could pinch availability in semi-urban and rural markets where low-margin, high-volume bottles dominate.
