Due to Middle East war, the speed of plastic factories slowed down, machines got ‘locked’ due to raw material crisis

News India Live, Digital Desk: The impact of the ongoing fierce conflict in West Asia is now clearly visible in the industrial corridors of India. The rising tensions in the Middle East have not only set crude oil prices on fire but also broken the back of India’s plastics industry. There is silence in thousands of plastic factories across the country due to supply chain breakdown and unexpected rise in the prices of raw material (polymer). The machines that used to run round the clock till yesterday are now silent, and the industry is facing a dark cloud of uncertainty. The plastic industry is completely dependent on petrochemical products, a large part of which comes from the Gulf countries. The crisis created by the war in sea lanes, especially the Strait of Hormuz, has disrupted the movement of goods. According to experts, in the last few weeks, there has been a huge increase of 60 to 75 percent in the prices of raw material i.e. polymer. The costs have increased so much that continuing the production is now proving to be a loss-making deal for the factory owners. Workers’ livelihood in danger, fear of retrenchment. The worst impact of closure of work in factories is falling on the daily wage and contract laborers working there. From Balasore in Odisha to Morbi in Gujarat, workers in plastic units say they have now stopped getting work. Whereas a month ago there was no time to work in shifts, now most of the machines are gathering dust. If the war drags on, there is a danger of large-scale layoffs and unemployment in this sector. Small industries hit the most, demand for government intervention. Experts believe that this crisis has affected the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) the most. Big industrialists have stock for some time, but small units depend on daily raw materials. Due to supply chain disruption, these factories have decided to temporarily stop production. Industry associations have appealed to the government to intervene and make alternative arrangements for raw materials, so that the stoves of millions of families struggling with this crisis continue to burn.