In India the lockdown came suddenly back in March and affected a lot of businesses especially those involved in the grape export as it was just 2/3 way through.
AVI Global Plast produce packaging for, amongst others, the grape sector but the company seems to have coped very well in a difficult situation.
"There definitely was a drop in the business by about 20%. The drop in sales for us was as per our forecast, however compared to last season we were able to sell 30% more this year," explains Sukhdeep Sethi, Director of AVI Global Plast.
The company was able to continue to manufacture and export their products as they are classed as supporting essential commodities.
Before the COVID pandemic there was a definite move away from plastic, but Mr Sethi believes that the focus has moved to more packaged products and with AVI Global's punnets being made from “rPET” which is environment friendly and a sustainable solution, people view it positively.
"As we know the use of plastics is quite deep-rooted and in general plastics has many advantages but the biggest known disadvantage is that it is a pollutant. If we look at it broadly the problem lies more with littering and disposal of the waste. As we are all realising this problem more and more, efforts are being put together in developing an ecosystem that leads to a more effective end of life solution of post consumer waste. For instance, we at AVI Global Plast recycled post consumer waste equivalent to 111 Million PET bottles."
As long as the main problem is addressed, plastic has a lot of advantages over other alternatives and Mr Sethi would like to see more technological improvements that help in better deriving plastics from renewable resources, a better collection system which ensures plastic waste does not become a pollutant and finally a better ecosystem to reuse this plastic or an efficient end of cycle solution.
AVI Global Plast will focus on providing more efficient, economical solutions where the use of plastic is reduced, reduced use of plastic means reduction in cost and all of this without compromising on product safety.
"In a country like India, COVID has brought about a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour and market place. Consumers today are much more likely to buy a packaged product than loose products which were bought traditionally. Through COVID a lot of essential commodities were bought online or through modern retail and as we all know these formats require a well packed product to ensure product safety. Hence now packing is looked at as a necessity and not just an expense."
