Recently, a senior official from KLJ Group, a local Indian producer, stated that due to strong downstream demand, the Indian phthalic anhydride industry has been largely unaffected by the global economic recession. The situation in India is different from other regions of the world. The country is less affected by the global economic recession, “said Pushh Jain, a director of KLJ Group
According to the group’s forecast, India’s demand for phthalic anhydride is expected to grow rapidly at an average annual growth rate of 6% to 8%. The current trend is for most global suppliers to come to India to sell their phthalic anhydride, as there is still demand from downstream industries in India, “said Jain
KLJ Group is one of the largest manufacturers of plasticizers and polymer composites in South Asia, and has recently put into operation a set of phthalic anhydride production equipment with an annual output of 100000 tons. The newly launched phthalic anhydride plant of KLJ Group is located in the Jhagadia factory in the Baruch region of western Gujarat. 70% to 75% of the phthalic anhydride production from this device will be used for self consumption, while the rest will be sold to the domestic market in India. KLJ has an annual production line of 300000 tons of phthalate plasticizer, a set of 3500 tons of maleic anhydride unit, and a set of 700 tons of benzoic acid unit.
Jain stated that the Indian government’s decision to implement mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for phthalic anhydride will contribute to the development of the industry. Now, after implementing BIS quality standards, without certification, no manufacturer can sell in India. The BIS standard for phthalic anhydride came into effect on June 22, 2023. At present, only three companies, namely Sinopec from mainland Thailand, OCI from South Korea, and Aijing Chemical, have obtained BIS certification. This gives domestic enterprises like KLJ the opportunity to fill the demand gap.