Domestic industry flags concern of rising Chinese PVC product imports

The Hindu

5 hours ago

Infrastructure and agricultural growth in India may have created demand for Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), mostly used in pipes and agri-based applications but carbide-based PVC imports from China are posing health and environmental hazards as well as damaging the domestic industry, said industry officials.
These products, dumped into the Indian market at artificially low prices, contain Residual Vinyl Chloride Monomer (RVCM)—a Group 1 carcinogen—as high as 10ppm, significantly breaching India's permissible norms, they said.
The current lack of stringent import quality enforcement risks turning India into a dumping ground for toxic and environmentally hazardous materials, while unfairly disadvantaging domestic manufacturers who meet all safety standards, they added.
Unlike domestically-produced PVC, which adheres to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms, Chinese imports often bypass these checks, slipping through enforcement gaps in existing Quality Control Orders (QCOs).
The result is not just a compromised public health situation but also an erosion of environmental safety. When exposed to sunlight or friction, these low-grade PVC products disintegrate into microplastics—contaminating water sources, soil, and potentially entire food chains, they said.
Anupam Kaul, former Director & Head of the National Institute of Training for Standardization, said 'A key issue is the uncertainty created by government by frequently amending enforcement dates of the notified Quality Control Orders.'
'Technical regulations are instruments of law and once notified spur a series of actions by the affected parties - manufacturers, raw material suppliers, organised buyers, test houses, certification agencies. The actions include investments in technology upgrade, infrastructure, materials, skillsets to meet the BIS standards,' he said.
'There is a growing tendency among the regulating ministries including the DCPC, to notify a short lead period (3 to 6 months ) on the first go, and then keep extending its enforcement date depending on the volume of voices raised by the impacted parties, such as the powerful import lobbies,' he added.
'In some cases extensions have stretched by 2 to 3 years. Unlike the Regulations in EU and other countries that evaluate and prescribe an adequate time frame upfront for ensuring compliance (and stay with it), the Indian practice of frequent extensions plays havoc with the supply chains that remain on tenterhooks till the last moment, not knowing whether the next enforcement date is final or will be extended,' he said.
'In several cases, (such as stainless steel utensils, cabinet hinges) the extensions came retrospectively after months. This scenario not only undermines the diligence and efforts of manufacturers (including those overseas) who secure the BIS certifications at high costs, but also presents an unreliable policy regime to the world, defying the principles of ease of doing business,' he added.
India's PVC pipe market is projected to grow at 14.2% CAGR, reaching $1.24 billion by 2033.
But while demand grows, domestic capacity cannot keep pace, leaving India increasingly reliant on imports—primarily from China, the world's largest PVC exporter.
The current lack of stringent import quality enforcement risks turning India into a dumping ground for toxic and environmentally hazardous materials, while unfairly disadvantaging domestic manufacturers who meet all safety standards,' industry officials said.