With the food processing industry showing high growth prospects, manufacturers of tinplate, cans and crowns are working overtime to ensure that they keep pace with the growth.
The Tinplate Promotion Council (TPC), the national body of tinplate and can manufacturers, has formulated a three-pronged strategy to regain its market share, lost to the aluminium sector. These include focus on product design and development, enhanced market penetration and promotion of tin plates as a versatile packaging media.
Bushen Raina, chairman, TPC said: "The major constraint in the Indian context is the lack of consumer awareness of tinplate being the most compatible and environment-friendly packaging medium. Moreover, the government must restrict use of spurious grade of tinplate available through cheap imports, to project the tinplate industry in the correct perspective."
The demand for packed food in the country is bound to increase with the change in lifestyle, specially in the urban areas and due to the entry of MNCs such as Heinz and Kellogg in a major way in the processed food segment, he said.
India produces 40 million tonne fruits and 80 million tonne vegetables, out of which a meagre one per cent goes for processing. Similarly, India being the world's largest milk producer, there has been a constant growth in dairy products which are packaged in tin plates.
"The huge export potential of the processed food industry offers endless opportunities to the packaging industry," Raina added.
The domestic market size for tinplate is around Rs 1,500 crore. The major producers in the country are The Tinplate Company of India (TCIL), a subsidiary of Tata Steel, and the Rourkela unit of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL). SAIL produces around 60,000 tonne and TCIL around 1.25 lakh tonne per annum. With around 30 per cent market share, TCIL is the market leader.
The domestic tinplate producers cater to the prime grade requirement in the country, while the remaining domestic demand is met by imports. The per capita consumption of tinplate in India is 0.3 kg against 0.8 kg in China and 10 kg in the US.
"TPC aims at working in a synergistic manner with all the members of the value chain, including the steel maker, the tin plate producer, the can fabricator and the processed food filler," Raina said.
