One minute with ITC's SN Venkataraman

Which industry vertical is seeing maximum growth?
The industry verticals are writing & printing paper (W&P, copier), paperboards (kraft, duplex), newsprint and specialty paper.

Let's crunch the numbers.
Out of the total market of 18-million tons, W&P is 5.6 million tons; paperboards are 9-million tons; newsprint is 2.5-million tons and specialty is one million tons.

And the highest growth?
Paperboards used for packaging (that is, both containerboards and carton boards) show the highest growth at 7-9%. While Writing & Printing paper though on the decline globally is still growing in India at 4 to 5%, driven by the education sector, children’s books and office paper (copier).

Which paper grades dominate the Indian scenario?
Duplex boards, Kraft, woodfree and copier Papers and to a lesser extent coated papers and VAP boards.

Supplies to web offset, sheetfed, gravure, flexo, digital are seeing growth?
Sheetfed offset and digital is seeing growth.

How do the domestic and imports of paper, compare?
Imports of paper and paperboard (excluding newsprint) amount to about 7% of the overall consumption.

Which are the regions, b-tier and c-tier centres where the numbers are bullish?
We do not have specific numbers but the east and northeast markets are seeing higher growth in packaging grades.

How much is the consumption for coated and uncoated paper?
Coated Paper is one million tons and uncoated is 4.6 million tons.

Is India's recycling infrastructure good?
Post-consumer waste collection and recycling of materials like paper, glass and metals have always relied on the informal infrastructure consisting of rag pickers, kabadi-walas and recyclers. This system is well developed and is seeing the entry of organised players too.

What about waste paper recoveries?
India’s waste paper recovery rates are low at 27%. This forces us to import 30-40% of our wastepaper requirements. When we look at the segregation of waste at source a lot needs to be done beginning with awareness creation and implementation on the ground. This can lead to an improvement in recovery rates.

What is the industry’s overall turnover?
The industry’s overall turnover is Rs 67,000 crores.