Manufacturers lament costly PVC raw material

Say importers are not reducing prices despite decrease in dollar

KARACHI:

Manufacturers are complaining that despite a decrease in dollar value, the price of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) raw material is not coming down.

Even though the rupee has strengthened from about Rs164 to less than Rs153 to a dollar, importers have not reduced prices of PVC raw material to pass on the benefit of dollar depreciation, said Mehran Commercial Enterprise Director Export Mashood Ali Khan while talking to The Express Tribune.

“We are not seeing impact of dollar depreciation and it is a big challenge for the country as to how we will contain the ever-increasing prices,” he said.

“Whenever the dollar appreciates against the rupee, prices of everything in Pakistan increase immediately and importers give the reason that they are compelled to hike the prices due to depreciation of the rupee,” the director said, adding that “when the situation is reverse, the importers do not push down prices.”

Prices of PVC, which is used in interior parts of cars, sewerage lines, water pipes, floors, windows and many other products, have jumped in recent months.

Khan said that until the raw material became cheaper, they would not be able to reduce prices for the end-consumers.

Citing one of the reasons for this, he said that there was only one company that was importing PVC raw material due to which the buyers did not have many options.

Meanwhile, Topline Research analyst Sunny Kumar was of the view that PVC prices were increasing internationally in dollar terms.

PVC raw material was ethylene and ethylene prices were also rising in the global market, he said.