- High freight costs continue to constrain export activity
- Prices may hold firm, strong demand expected post monsoon
India’s rPET market remained broadly stable but regionally mixed in the week ended 28 August. Mumbai and Ahmedabad saw stable fibre-grade markets, while food-grade demand remained soft. Delhi-NCR was stable, with stronger demand for quality material.
Market participants are tracking bottle-bale trader and recycler inventories, virgin PET demand, and prices. Bottle collection has improved, but traders are holding bales in anticipation of stronger demand after the monsoon.
Mumbai market
Mumbai’s rPET market remained very weak, with several participants reporting no major business last week. Both fibre-grade and food-grade markets remained stable.
Despite weak demand, high feedstock costs and expectations of improved downstream demand continue to support prices.
Delhi-NCR market
Delhi-NCR remained stable, with stronger demand for quality material. A first-grade bottle deal was concluded at INR 61/kg, while urgent requirements were indicated around INR 62/kg.
Material remains available with scrap aggregators, but sellers are holding inventories expecting end-user demand to improve in the near term. One participant expects prices to rise around Janmashtami or after mid-September across the rPET chain.
The participant described the market as “the calm before the storm”, expecting rPE, rPET and rPP prices to rise post-monsoon. Flakes and pellets, meanwhile, could have been INR 2-3/kg higher amid elevated feedstock costs.
Ahmedabad-Gujarat market
The increase in virgin PET prices has not yet fully reflected in the rPET market. Bale prices remained stable, with ample material available with traders and aggregators, while first-grade bottles remained highly competitive amid strong demand. A participant reported buying first-grade bottles at INR 58–60/kg.
The domestic market was described as volatile, while export activity has been severely constrained by sharply higher freight rates.
A participant reported that bale prices had increased by around INR 1/kg over the past 10 days, although a recent deal was concluded at INR 53/kg, in line with last week’s level.
Export market
Indian physical rPET export activity remained muted w-o-w amid high freight costs. Regular PET bottle bale was assessed at $560.5-586/t FOB India, up 1.9-4.7% w-o-w, while bottle bale without caps and labels was indicated at $620-650/t, up 5.5-11.1% w-o-w.
<30 ppm clear flakes from certified recyclers were assessed at $900-920/t, compared with $858-879/t for regular recyclers. Food-grade rPET pellets were indicated at $1,170-1,220/MT FOB India, stable w-o-w.
A sourcing-company executive said export activity remains muted due to high freight costs, although pellet and flakes demand continues to be present in destination markets.
Outlook
rPET prices are expected to remain firm with an upward bias, as higher feedstock costs and trader-held bale inventories could support prices if downstream demand improves post-monsoon. Delhi-NCR is showing the strongest buying signals, while Mumbai and Gujarat remain more mixed. Export demand could improve if freight and supply constraints ease.
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