Yogi Malik, India Correspondent03.09.18
India is a country of remarkable potential and opportunities. The second most populous nation on the globe (1.27 billion) has been one of the fastest growing major economies in recent years. Changing lifestyle, rising disposable income, modern retail and the ever increasing packaging industry has pushed printing ink demand to new highs in recent years.
With a forecasted annual growth of more than 12% per year in the coming years, the Indian packaging ink market is expected to maintain its healthy run for the foreseeable future.
Overview of the Indian Ink Industry
With an estimated market size of 232 million tons, valued at about INR 54 billion ($830 million), the Indian ink industry has grown at a CAGR of more than 8% in the past 10 years.
The country is among the fastest growing printing ink markets, globally spurred by the rapid expansion of domestic print markets.
Backed by a strong demand from key end user segments such as packaging printing, newsprint, publishing and other commercial printing, the printing ink market in the country is expected to maintain its current healthy trend for a number of years to come.
The Indian printing ink industry is highly fragmented with more than 400 manufacturers and a large number of players in the unorganized sector. Huber India, DIC India, Sakata, Siegwerk, Flint Group and Toyo Ink are the leading manufacturers of printing ink in India.
The printing ink sector witnessed consolidation during the last 10 to 15 years. Leading multinational ink producers have entered into the country via acquisitions and joint ventures. Some of the notable acquisitions/collaborations in recent years are Huber Group-Micro Inks; Dai Nippon-Coates of India; Siegwerk-SICPA and Flint Group-Incowax.
The Indian Packaging Ink Market
Comprising 40% of the total ink industry on volume basis, packaging is the largest sub-segment for India’s ink industry. Ink consumption from the sub-segment has registered steady growth rates of 12% to 15% in each of the last five years.
In terms of installed manufacturing capacity, Huber India has installed capacity of 203,000 metric tons per annum (MTPA) for printing inks, 67,600 MTPA for resins and varnishes, and 46,500 MTPA for pigments and flush colors at its four plants, two in Vapi and one each in Daman and Silvasa.
DIC India, formerly Coates of India, produces 49,000 MTPA at its facilities in Noida, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmadabad. The packaging segment accounts for 30% of DIC India’s sales value.
Sakata INX India produces 48,000 MTPA, with gravure making up 28,000 tons and offset 20,000 tons at its plants in Bhiwadi and Panoli. Packaging forms two-thirds of Sakata India’s revenue.
India’s packaging ink industry is expected to get a steady boost in the coming years on the back of strong growth from the packaging industry.
The overall packaging industry in the country is expected to reach $73 billion in 2020 from $46 billion in 2016, according to a report prepared by Indian Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG).
In the coming years, the Indian packaging industry is anticipated to register 18% annual growth, with flexible packaging and rigid packaging expected to grow annually at 25% and 15%, respectively.
“The packaging sub-segment has been the main demand driver for the Indian ink producers in the last few years. Ink consumption in flexible packaging in particular has shown very healthy growth rates,” said R. Y. Kamat, director of sales and marketing at Huber Group India.
“Going forward, we at Huber Group are very optimistic of double-digit growth rates from this sub-segment for the next few years,” Kamat added.
“The Indian packaging industry is growing at a brisk pace every year, but the per-capita consumption of packaging is still quite low,” said Siegwerk India CEO Ashish Pradhan. “So there is still a lot of growth potential for packaging in India. Siegwerk is keeping pace and even outgrowing the market growth in packaging and is committed to ensure its investment plans support the ambitious growth plans it has in the Indian market.”
Lightweight packaging with 20% to 25% less ink deposits have decreased ink consumption, which has had an effect on total volumes. However, demand of high quality printing inks has increased the total value of ink industry in this sub-segment. Despite a quantum jump in average prices from USD $2.75 per kg in 2015 to the current USD $3.17 per kg, India is far behind the global average prices of USD $4.25 per kg.
“The Indian packaging print market has registered very steady growth in recent years. Since 2011, the Indian market has moved from being the eighth largest print packaging market to fifth in 2016,” Vinod Vittoba, director, NPES (India), the Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, said.
“On a volumetric basis, the Indian market will pass Germany in 2020, and it will be behind third-placed Japan.”
“India’s packaging ink market has grown in the range of 15%-17% in the last five years. Huge capacity addition in India’s packaging industry will further boost packaging inks demand in the country in next few years,” Prof. Kamal Chopra, immediate past president, All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP), said. “For packaging ink providers, sub-segments like metal/can coating, which are currently growing at low rates, will form a major part of total ink demand in coming years.”
When queried about the challenges facing the Indian ink industry for the packaging segment, Prof. Chopra said, “These days there is a huge demand for quick drying and UV inks, because now many packages are preferred with metalized covers. Facilities and availabilities of required ink and chemicals for such formats are very limited in the country.”
Rising incomes, urbanization and e-commerce will further boost the fast-moving consumer goods sector, which will lead to steady demand from carton, labels and tags, and flexible print packaging, according to Vittoba.
Recent Developments
A recent regulation by Indian authorities is expected to give a fillip to low migration inks in the packaging sub-segment. The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released a draft food safety regulation for the packaging of food products in November 2017 to raise the bar for packaging safety for food products.
FSSAI aims to adopt standards that will regulate different packaging components, such as plastics, glass, paper, printing inks, etc. across the packaging supply chain.
According to Jatin Takkar, deputy manager, product safety and regulatory, Siegwerk India, “The drafted standards are the need of the hour. There have been several scandals across the globe, which have raised concerns on packaging materials’ safety.
Adopting a new set of rules set for packaging safety will not only help the packaging industry to evolve in terms of food safety, but also in terms of operational and environmental safety. The standards will also bridge the gap between regulations across the globe, and therefore, will deploy more opportunities for export.”
With a forecasted annual growth of more than 12% per year in the coming years, the Indian packaging ink market is expected to maintain its healthy run for the foreseeable future.
Overview of the Indian Ink Industry
With an estimated market size of 232 million tons, valued at about INR 54 billion ($830 million), the Indian ink industry has grown at a CAGR of more than 8% in the past 10 years.
The country is among the fastest growing printing ink markets, globally spurred by the rapid expansion of domestic print markets.
Backed by a strong demand from key end user segments such as packaging printing, newsprint, publishing and other commercial printing, the printing ink market in the country is expected to maintain its current healthy trend for a number of years to come.
The Indian printing ink industry is highly fragmented with more than 400 manufacturers and a large number of players in the unorganized sector. Huber India, DIC India, Sakata, Siegwerk, Flint Group and Toyo Ink are the leading manufacturers of printing ink in India.
The printing ink sector witnessed consolidation during the last 10 to 15 years. Leading multinational ink producers have entered into the country via acquisitions and joint ventures. Some of the notable acquisitions/collaborations in recent years are Huber Group-Micro Inks; Dai Nippon-Coates of India; Siegwerk-SICPA and Flint Group-Incowax.
The Indian Packaging Ink Market
Comprising 40% of the total ink industry on volume basis, packaging is the largest sub-segment for India’s ink industry. Ink consumption from the sub-segment has registered steady growth rates of 12% to 15% in each of the last five years.
In terms of installed manufacturing capacity, Huber India has installed capacity of 203,000 metric tons per annum (MTPA) for printing inks, 67,600 MTPA for resins and varnishes, and 46,500 MTPA for pigments and flush colors at its four plants, two in Vapi and one each in Daman and Silvasa.
DIC India, formerly Coates of India, produces 49,000 MTPA at its facilities in Noida, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmadabad. The packaging segment accounts for 30% of DIC India’s sales value.
Sakata INX India produces 48,000 MTPA, with gravure making up 28,000 tons and offset 20,000 tons at its plants in Bhiwadi and Panoli. Packaging forms two-thirds of Sakata India’s revenue.
India’s packaging ink industry is expected to get a steady boost in the coming years on the back of strong growth from the packaging industry.
The overall packaging industry in the country is expected to reach $73 billion in 2020 from $46 billion in 2016, according to a report prepared by Indian Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG).
In the coming years, the Indian packaging industry is anticipated to register 18% annual growth, with flexible packaging and rigid packaging expected to grow annually at 25% and 15%, respectively.
“The packaging sub-segment has been the main demand driver for the Indian ink producers in the last few years. Ink consumption in flexible packaging in particular has shown very healthy growth rates,” said R. Y. Kamat, director of sales and marketing at Huber Group India.
“Going forward, we at Huber Group are very optimistic of double-digit growth rates from this sub-segment for the next few years,” Kamat added.
“The Indian packaging industry is growing at a brisk pace every year, but the per-capita consumption of packaging is still quite low,” said Siegwerk India CEO Ashish Pradhan. “So there is still a lot of growth potential for packaging in India. Siegwerk is keeping pace and even outgrowing the market growth in packaging and is committed to ensure its investment plans support the ambitious growth plans it has in the Indian market.”
Lightweight packaging with 20% to 25% less ink deposits have decreased ink consumption, which has had an effect on total volumes. However, demand of high quality printing inks has increased the total value of ink industry in this sub-segment. Despite a quantum jump in average prices from USD $2.75 per kg in 2015 to the current USD $3.17 per kg, India is far behind the global average prices of USD $4.25 per kg.
“The Indian packaging print market has registered very steady growth in recent years. Since 2011, the Indian market has moved from being the eighth largest print packaging market to fifth in 2016,” Vinod Vittoba, director, NPES (India), the Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, said.
“On a volumetric basis, the Indian market will pass Germany in 2020, and it will be behind third-placed Japan.”
“India’s packaging ink market has grown in the range of 15%-17% in the last five years. Huge capacity addition in India’s packaging industry will further boost packaging inks demand in the country in next few years,” Prof. Kamal Chopra, immediate past president, All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP), said. “For packaging ink providers, sub-segments like metal/can coating, which are currently growing at low rates, will form a major part of total ink demand in coming years.”
When queried about the challenges facing the Indian ink industry for the packaging segment, Prof. Chopra said, “These days there is a huge demand for quick drying and UV inks, because now many packages are preferred with metalized covers. Facilities and availabilities of required ink and chemicals for such formats are very limited in the country.”
Rising incomes, urbanization and e-commerce will further boost the fast-moving consumer goods sector, which will lead to steady demand from carton, labels and tags, and flexible print packaging, according to Vittoba.
Recent Developments
A recent regulation by Indian authorities is expected to give a fillip to low migration inks in the packaging sub-segment. The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released a draft food safety regulation for the packaging of food products in November 2017 to raise the bar for packaging safety for food products.
FSSAI aims to adopt standards that will regulate different packaging components, such as plastics, glass, paper, printing inks, etc. across the packaging supply chain.
According to Jatin Takkar, deputy manager, product safety and regulatory, Siegwerk India, “The drafted standards are the need of the hour. There have been several scandals across the globe, which have raised concerns on packaging materials’ safety.
Adopting a new set of rules set for packaging safety will not only help the packaging industry to evolve in terms of food safety, but also in terms of operational and environmental safety. The standards will also bridge the gap between regulations across the globe, and therefore, will deploy more opportunities for export.”
