[ 16 ] | OVERVIEW
STRUCTURAL GROWTH TO RESUME
Resurgence in automotive and consumer segments should drive demand improvements in specialized polymers, polymer additives, rubber chemicals, and pigments
T SWARNABHA MUKHERJEE PRINCIPAL ANALYST – WEALTH MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, EDELWEISS BROKING LIMITED
he year 2020 was turbulent for the whole world – the sudden onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic grounded economies with the emergence of countless challenges and miseries. As the pandemic ravaged the country and the world, Indian chemical manufacturers too felt the heat and were impacted in various ways, depending on how global and domestic demand in their end-user industries shaped up. However, as economies opened up along with a resurgence in international trade, and more importantly, demand
surging to higher-than-expected levels, the recovery witnessed in certain segments of the Indian chemical industry was nothing short of spectacular (as restrictions started to ease). For manufacturers of products in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, care chemicals, food additives and packaging value chains, the impact of the pandemic was mostly transient as demand was strong. These segments were largely unaffected due to: China+1 trend and focus on import substitution owing to supply chain de-risking strategies; the Indian government’s focus on domestic self-
