Dubai, 9th Jan 2011 (WAM): A clarion call for the Gulf petrochemical industry to stand up against anti-dumping practices was made on the second day of ArabPlast 2011. The call came from NATPET, a major petrochemicals company based in Saudi Arabia that serves more than 57 countries.
The company said when the global market looks at the petrochemical industry as a large economic body, the negotiation power of this industry on the global map would be more impactful. NATPET also urged for higher deployment of local manpower in the petrochemical sector, and called on universities and industry leaders to collaborate on preparing petrochemical specialists who could lead this rapidly growing industry in the Gulf. The national pavilions at the show have got bigger this year, with many countries being represented under national umbrellas. Mr. Satish Khanna, General Manager, Al Fajer Information and Services, Co-organiser of ArabPlast, said that companies from Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Korea, KSA, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, USA and Vietnam are participating in the show. The Indian pavilion is the biggest in the history of ArabPlast. M.K. Lokesh, Ambassador of India to the UAE, said: "UAE is Indias largest trading partner with bi-lateral trade reaching $43 billion annually. The figure crossed $13 billion in the 1st quarter of our 2010 fiscal year i-e April- June 2010. India is the worlds third largest producer of plastics after USA and China, with an annual growth of 15 to 20 percent. We expect a three-fold growth in the demand of plastics for our products in the region. UAE is a re-export center for our products. We also export petrochemicals to UAE, Qatar and KSA." Engineer Hamed I. Khalil, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, NATPET, said: "The show is increasing in terms of number of exhibitors and visitors. We urge the Gulf countries to act as one body on the global level . We call on certain countries to stop unfair anti-dumping practices and we urge other Gulf countries to support us in our fight against this practice, which violates WTO regulations."Khalil said that there was a shortage of local workers in the petrochemical industry and this needs to be addressed. He said that NATPET has more than 50 percent KSA nationals in its workforce but overall the Gulf industry has a lower concentration of locals in the petrochemicals industry. Khalil added: "Operating from a major petrochemical base, with its upstream integrated propane dehydrogenation unit, NATPET enjoys excellent availability of main raw material, the propylene monomer. Saudi Arabia, through its port cities of Yanbu and neighbouring Jeddah, enjoys the advantage of being central to all major international ports."The ArabPlast Summit starts tomorrow (January 10th, 2010) to discuss key challenges facing the growth of raw plastics and petrochemicals in the GCC region. All India Plastics Manufactures Association, the Indian partners for Arabplast, is also organizing a conference on the emerging opportunities in India in the plastics sector. Khanna added: "ArabPlast 2011 is showcasing latest technologies and track market trends of the Middle East plastics and rubber industry, which continues to be the world's largest exporter, offloading the majority of its output to international markets." Companies are aggressively competing to showcase their latest technology in plastic manufacturing at the exhibition. This is expected to give further boost to the demand for industrial machinery.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2011.
