Thenonwovens industry is a globally rising segment in textiles, and India isemerging as a significant player in it. The industry is looked at as a newmarket with enormous opportunity, and it has become the most preferredinvestment area in India. Nonwovens have opened doors in terms of valueenhancement of investments, and with the diversified segment base andinnovative segments, nonwovens are an attractive proposition, says
The Indian economy gets a liftbecause of the growing middle class, educated and young population. The factthat the population of India is 1.3 billion and one-third of it is the middleincome group, assumes an imperative part with the growth of Indian economy andis set to lead the growth of nonwovens. According to recent information, theper capita net national income (current prices) during 2016-17 is estimated tobe ₹
All statistical data support thegrowth of the Indian nonwovens industry. Also, there is now a stable governmentat the Centre and there are policy reforms taking place with long term planningin mind. The trust in Indian economy is becoming stronger and firmer ascompared to a few years ago. The nonwovens and technical textiles sector hasalready been taken up as an important thrust area for support and developmentby the ministry of textiles. Several optimistic schemes have been implementedat the Central level to encourage growth of the industry. In years to come, thegrowth in the middle class population is likely to transform the nature of theindustry. Also, the increasing population of working women, improved standardsof living, literacy rates and general awareness about products are driving thisgrowth by accompanying efforts towards infrastructure and overallsocio-economic development.
Thenonwovens industry in India
The manufacturing of nonwovensstarted decades ago and was initially limited to nonwovens produced usingstaple fibres through conventional and old methods. Further, continuing pushtowards reduction in basis weight, spunlace and spunmelt fabrics became anintegral factor. The market of needle-punched nonwovens grew with the growth ofthe geotextiles, automotive and filtration industries.
The awareness about
product quality started assuming a major part in product offerings. In recent
years, a wide range of nonwovens plants with various innovative bonding
technologies have come up. With a growth of 17 per cent last year, India
manufactured 365,000 tonnes of nonwovens in 2016. A majority of the nonwovens
volume today is going into low-end, low-priced products such as shopping bags,
backings and carpets, etc. But as consistent growth is showing in high-end
usage such as in filtration, automotive, geotextiles and in the hygiene and medical
sectors, the growth will rise in value terms too.
However, now everyone is aware
that nonwoven technologies are compact and yield much higher production
compared to other textile technologies and are emerging technologies to deliver
complex products too. As the nonwoven manufacturing process is comparatively
shorter, the utility consumption is much lower and due to high production, the
operating costs are less. Additionally, there is much less involvement of
humans. So, quality is determined by technology and less human interference.
Earlier, 'wash and wear' was the
basic mindset of Indian society which did not believe in 'use and throw'
disposable products. But as local labour began becoming noticeably expensive
and disposable products' usage started seemingly convenient and cheap, the
nonwovens disposable industry started growing. In the durable sector as well,
the industry has begun showing signs of good growth as India is progressing
from a developing to a developed nation. This was quite the beginning of a new
period, popularly known as the 'nonwovens fabric age' in India.
The global nonwovens fabric market
was valued at $37 billion in 2015, and according to recent studies, and with
growth rate of 6-7 per cent, it is anticipated to grow to around $50 billion by
2020 with hygiene being the biggest segment of the market. Asia is the major
consumer of nonwovens in the world, and it has a 43 per cent share of the
global market. China is the leading consumer in Asia. China alone represented
around 57 per cent of this region's nonwovens consumption in 2015. India is the
second biggest consumer in Asia with a 10.5 per cent share by volume of the
market.
Drivers
for growth of nonwovens market
As discussed earlier, the
burgeoning middle class population and rise in disposable incomes of India's
population, changing lifestyles and awareness of healthcare and hygiene
products are the major drivers for the growth of the Indian nonwovens industry.
Also, there is much interest in both the government and private sectors to
consider the opportunities beyond the conventional textile chain.
Other drivers are steady growth in
infrastructure development, growing real estate sector, industrial growth,
increasing consumption of geotextiles, growth in automotive sectors, urbanisation,
and stringent laws on waste management. Products like disposable home textiles,
wet wipes, travel kits, air bags, high end sports textiles, disposable products
like medical textiles and home textiles will become daily consumption products
in the near future.
The Clean India Mission of the
Indian government covering 4,041 towns across the country promises to be huge
in scope and need. Two products driving the hygiene nonwovens segment are
sanitary napkins and diapers. According to recent studies, the sanitary napkin
market of India is growing annually at 24 per cent. The retail hygiene industry
in India is expected to increase two-fold in value between 2014 and 2018. Among
other factors that the nonwovens industry can look at is the birth rate in
India, which was 22 per cent in 2013 and is expected to decline to 20 per cent
in 2018. That would be 123 million children every year in the 0-4 age group.
The female population in India in the range of 12-54 is expected to increase to
412 million in 2018 from 389 million in 2013. By 2018, the category could reach
to level of $824 million if each female spends just $2 on sanitary protection.
Even if only 20 per cent of all consumers in this age group spend $5 every
year, the market could achieve a potential of $412 million.
In
conclusion
Indian culture is experiencing a
significant change and the new generation entrepreneurs should consider
unexploited market segments. The latest nonwovens technologies are going to
bring innovative products and they can replace the products produced by
conventional technologies. At the global level, the Indian textiles industry
has always done remarkably well in spinning, weaving, knitting and the overall
value chain of textiles.
India has a rich culture and history of phenomenal expertise and skillsets for textiles. It also has raw materials available in abundance from different sources of natural fibres to synthetics. Compared to other countries, India also has skilled labour available at lower costs. A lot of important steps have been taken by the Indian government for promotion of nonwovens. India itself has huge domestic market and it is one of the biggest economies in the world. India has tremendous potential to become the leading producer of nonwovens.
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