Ceramics exporters eye advanced products

Indian ceramic industry has zeroed in on advanced ceramic products to step up exports.

At present, advanced ceramic products do not feature in the Indian export basket. Traditional items like insulators, floor tiles and sanitaryware are normally exported.

The global market for advanced ceramics is over $20 billion. This segment is dominated by countries like Japan and United States.

"We do not have technology for large scale commercial production of advanced ceramics though laboratory scale technology is available in the country," S K Ghosh, past chairman of Capexil, said.

Capexil will chalk out a roadmap for development of exports of advanced ceramics products under Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme of the central government's ministry of commerce.

It has engaged a US based consulting firm to develop the plan. The consultant will submit its report within three months.

Per unit realisation from advanced ceramics products is much higher than margins on regular products. Indian ceramics exports will leapfrog in terms of value if advanced products are added on.

The US, Germany, Japan and France are the top four countries in the global ceramics export market. The top 10 exporters have 75.5 per cent share of global export market.

India's global market share is only 0.34 per cent and it is ranked at 36. Manufacturers have been working on a plan to raise India's share in the global market to 1 per cent of trade by 2007.

Advanced ceramics products contain ingredients not usually found in traditional ceramics.

A combination of special raw materials and superior manufacturing techniques deliver products with unique resistance to temperature, corrosion and wear. The products find use in electronics, automotive and aerospace industries.

New and expanding applications for ceramics materials are creating growth opportunities in virtually all industrial sectors of the world's economy.

Many commercial and consumer related applications such as computers and telecommunication equipment have been growing rapidly, contributing to the growth, particularly in the electronics ceramics area.

Japan dominates the advanced ceramics market, supplying more than half of current world production. The giant Japanese electronic goods industry provides a large domestic market for ceramics.