Packaging industry in Uttarakhand thrives on tax breaks

The majority of industries have set up base in Mohabewala, Selaqui and Haridwar industrial areas. The cluster relates to almost all types of packaging ranging from flexi packaging to rigid packaging and also other forms used in paper units and glass-based units. The demand for corrugated boxes is also growing fast.

The total investment in these units is now more than Rs 250 crore.It provides employment to more than 5,000 people, industry sources said.

Timely payment from clients is the issue plaguing many of these units. Most of the owners are thus faced by a liquidity crunch while procuring raw materials, say experts.

"The owners have to buy raw material in advance, but the payments comes in around 6 months and sometimes even more," said Pankaj Gupta, owner, Satya Industries.

To tide over the liquidity crunch, talks are on to set up a corpus to provide soft loans among the industry owners themselves. The issue has also been taken up Sidbi, "If any scheme comes for cluster development, we are ready to provide our help," said Sanjay N Gowan, deputy general manager, Sidbi.

Despite the cash-flow problem, the industry seems to in good shape. With FMCG and electronic goods giants like LG setting up their units, the demand for packaging can only grow.