In India, estimate of edible oil availability from domestic oilseeds in 2008-09 (Nov-Oct) was 77.7 lakh tons, edible oil imports in the same period was 81.83 lakh ton, making India the fourth largest edible oil economy. 50% of the total edible oil in India is sold loose. The government has passed the Eligible Oil Packaging (Regulation) Order, which makes its compulsory for edible oils to be sold in packed form, with effect from December 15, 1998.
Size of oilseeds sector in India: • India is one of the world’s largest edible oil economies with 15,000 oil mills, 689 solvent extraction units, 251 Vanaspati plants and over 1,000 refineries employing more than one million people. The total market size is at Rs. 600,000 Mln. and import export trade is worth Rs.130, 000 Mln. • India is also a leading producer of oilseeds, contributing 8-10% of world oilseed production. India is estimated to account for around 6% of the world’s production of edible oils. Though it has the largest cultivated area under oilseeds in the world, crop yields tantamount to only 50-60% of the world’s average. • India is the fifth largest producer of oilseeds in the world, behind US, China, Brazil, and Argentina. • Three oilseeds - Groundnut, Soybean and Rapeseed/ Mustard - together account for over 80% of aggregate cultivated oilseeds output. Structural Characteristics • Broadly, edible oil/fat products can be categorised into four categories, namely vegetable refined oil, hydrogenated oil (vanaspati), bakery fats/margarine and de-oiled cakes. • The Indian edible oil industry can be classified into the following segments: ghanis, small scale expellers, solvent extractors, oil refiners and vanaspati manufacturers. • Oil mills crush oil seeds and extract oil, 70% of which is sold in the open market. The remaining 30% is refined and sold as branded oil. After the extraction of oil, residual seeds are processed further by solvent extractors, to make solvent-extracted oil. Most of the solvent extracted oil is used to make ‘vanaspati'. • The Indian edible oil industry is highly fragmented with a large number of small scale producers. The ghanis belong to the SSI segment and usually serve the rural markets. • Small scale expellers, much like the ghanis, use metal screws to press or expel oil from seeds. However, they are larger than the ghanis, oil expelling capacity being in the range of 5-10 tons/day, compared to around 50-60 kgs/day for ghanis. • Solvent extractors belong to the organised segment and are also the second largest after the SSI segment, in the domestic edible oil industry. They use modern technology to process low oil & high meal seeds (eg.soyabean, cottonseed) into edible oil and de-oiled cake. • Oil refining also belongs to the organised sector and has recorded rapid growth in recent times. Refiners generally refine both expeller oils and solvent extracted oils. • Vanaspati is made by hydrogenation of refined oil to vegetable shortening or spread and is similar to the milk product ghee and absorbs around 10% of the total edible oil supply in India. • Due to increased consumer preference for non traditional oils such as soyabean and sunflower oil, the organised sector has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors in recent times clocking double digit growth. Branded products, though small portion of the total edible oils market, have been one of the main drivers of rapid growth. Characteristics • Oils: primarily a commodity market - price sensitive • Effective distribution chain - through a complex network of C&F agents, wholesalers/stockists & retailers (kirana shops, supermarkets) • Oil sold in bulk (tin, HDPE containers) to institutions; in retail packs (PET bottles, cans, jars, pouches) to small customers • Seasonal demand for oils & vanaspathi - September to November (peak season) • Regulation: Under the Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998, edible oils cannot be sold loose but can be sold only in `packed’ form • Oil consumption - North is largest market, followed by South, West & East zones Imports and Prices • Oils and vanaspati substitutes can be freely imported under OGL • Import duties: 15 % basic + 10 % surcharge (Oil); 40% basic (Oilseeds) • Large scale imports of oils and vanaspati substitutes - primarily to check price rise and meet supply shortages Usage • Oil and vanaspati is used as cooking media (in households, hotels, restaurants, canteens, institutions) • Vanaspathi used as an industrial input - for making bakery products & confectionery High Density Polyethylene Blow Moulded Products for Entrepreneurs The vast plastic processing industry, includes low capacity blow moulded bottles such as pharmaceutical bottles and high capacity blow moulded products such as 220 litre HMHDPE LRing Drums for chemicals. This has helped entrepreneurs fetch higher value additions for these low capacity bottles and higher volumes of business for the high capacity drums. Delivery of pharmaceuticals, chemicals etc, in plastic containers ensure a high degree of safety. The plastic container made out of blow moulding acts as a carrier for transportation of chemicals, diesel etc eg HDPE Carboys, HDPE Jerry cans, 220 litre HMHDPE L Ring Drums. Blow Moulded Containers offer a high impact resistance and less breakage. Eg. Safe delivery is needed for Chemicals & Pharmaceutical- These chemicals which may be hazardous, need to be packed in products which are chemically resistant and are safe during transportation and handling. Blow moulded HDPE products thus becomes a need for packaging. HDPE Blow Moulded Kettle for edible oil for rural population has a market potential 368,000 tons assuming 15 litre capacity of 700 gms. Edible oil is a basic need for cooking food. Edible oil in the rural population (70% of total population) today is sold loose (79 lac tons). Loose edible oil could be transported in HMHDPE 220 litre blow moulded Lring drums and distributed in various villages. The edible oil from polyethylene blow moulded tank could be distributed in 10 litre, 15 litre, 20 litre polyethylene blow moulded kettle which could be used by retailers while supplying edible oil in bottles to rural population. A polyethylene blow moulded kettle provides easy pouring of edible oil during sale of the oil to the population in rural areas. The polyethylene blow moulded kettle has 2 lids made up of polyethylene which are tightly fitted onto the blow moulded kettle. Plastics kettle available in various colours, capacities could be used by the retailers in rural areas. The advantages of plastics are numerous : • Light weight • Good Aesthetics • Better Hygiene • Safe handling of liquids such as edible oil with easy pouring • Low costs • Could be used for multiple uses such as edible oil, water, other liquids • Blow moulding process involves low investments in machinery • Injection moulding process for caps also involves low investments in machinery
• A low market penetration of packed edible oil amongst rural population (70%), the main reason being that the loose edible oil is unbranded and is available at lower cost than the branded packed edible oil. Affordability is a major constraint amongst rural population • Amongst the other 30% urban population, trend towards shopping malls makes the use of 1 litre pouches more popular. Another reason is that of freshness. Small packs of 1 litre gives fresh edible oil in comparison to edible oil in 15 litre HDPE Edible Oil containers • To look at the hotel industry which requires oil in bulk would help 15 litre HDPE Edible Oil Containers penetrate in this segment • Mandation (with effect from Dec 15, 1998) that edible oils should be sold in packed form is not followed • This mandate was followed during the dropsy case & is otherwise not followed Blow molding is a molding process in which air pressure is used to inflate soft plastic into a mold cavity. It is an important industrial process for making one-piece hollow plastic parts with thin walls, such as bottles and similar containers. Since many of these items are used for consumer beverages for mass markets, production is typically organized for very high quantities. Blow molding is accomplished in two steps: (1) fabrication of a starting tube of molten plastic, called a parison and (2) inflation of the tube to the desired final shape. Forming the parison is accomplished by either of two processes: extrusion or injection molding. Versatilily of blow moulding process as well as blow moulding machinery helps entrepreneurs in producing more number of products through more number of moulds on the same machinery leading to a higher product mix and thus a higher net profitability. Versatile Machinery of Blow Moulding • Technological changes, new applications, new enduses leading to the versatility of the machinery capable of producing a single product or a wide range of products • New products, new applications helping in achieving a higher capacity utilisation to fetch a better net profitability • Broadening knowledgebase on the enduse sector helping the mould makers in achieving a widened range of products • Need arising out of enduses sectors such as Organised Retail, Pharma, Automotive, Edible Oil • New Developments in Blow Moulding Machinery - Zebra line Blow Moulded Kettle - 2000 litre m/c for Water tanks - 4 parison m/c - Inline mould labelling m/c - 2 colour machine • Product design of 15 lt HDPE Edible Oil containers could be modified by giving studs(elevation) on the top of the container and studs(depression) on the bottom of the previous container wherein both these containers could be locked for better stackability of the products Major Applications of Blow Moulded Products Consumer applications • HDPE 5 Litre Lube Oil Container • 15 Litre HDPE Edible Oil Container • Packaging for vegetable ghee • Packaging for pharmaceutical over the counter products (chyavan prash etc.) • Water bottles, toys, housewares • Container for cosmetics • Fruit juices, milk products packaging • Detergent packaging Industrial applications Packaging of lubricants, brake fluid oils, greases, chemicals - pesticide/insecticide containers large containers and jerry cans for transporting and storing chemicals. Amongst the other applications are ball valves for toilet flushing. HDPE blow moulded containers provide the following advantages: • Good stiffness • Good impact resistance and hence less breakage • Inert to most of the chemicals and hence better compatibility with materials to be packed • Greater rigidity which permits use of thinner walls thereby providing light weight low cost packaging • Low permeability to solvents thereby widening the scope of applications • Very good environmental stress crack resistance Blow moulding process started with blowing of bottles, and now has large capacity blowing of 2000 litre Overhead Water tanks. Also, developments in machinery eg blow moulding machines for ice box where the internal body and the external body of the ice box is manufactured on a single machine and a single mould and is cut in between separating both the internal body of ice box and the external body of ice box. Productivity with multiple moulds is being met with multiparison machines such as 4 parison blow moulding machines. The constraint of stackability in HDPE Edible Oil Containers would now be overcome with the expertise of mould makers in the country. Usage of Plastics has grown with new product designs and new mould designs with the expertise of mould makers in the country. Technical persons in the plastic industry should work towards innovation in products and enduses. Entrepreneurs can then commercialise these products/enduses. This can be done through innovations in machinery by Machinery suppliers. Blow moulding machines initiated with single layer machines but are now available with multiple layer machines, blow moulding machines which initiated with low capacity machines for bottles are now available with high capacity blow moulding machines for 2000 litre overhead water tanks and blow moulding machines which initiated with single parison machines are now available with blow moulding machines with multiple parisons in the country. Machinery suppliers in the country, to whom an entrepreneur approaches during a startup of a project thus helps an entrepreneur identify the appropriate machinery. Entrepreneurs could look at multiple products on a single machine • 15 litre HDPE Edible Oil Container • 15 litre HDPE Carboys for chemicals, diesel • 15 litre HDPE Edible Oil Containers that could be used by housewives for foodgrain storage, other food related products, multipurpose, available in different shapes and colours Other New Innovations Needed in Blow Moulding in India : Mini blow moulded carboys for milk, juices, curds, yogurts of 100 ml to 2 litre with handle for reuse of these containers would make the blow moulding industry grow at a faster pace. Wheels at the bottom of 210 litre HMHDPE LRing Drums with nut and bolt design would help these blow moulded containers to be stationery as well as mobile for handling of liquid and powdered chemicals. (Source Courtsey: Ms Poorvi C. Desai, Business Development - Polymers, Reliance Industries Ltd.) |
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