Plastic entrepreneurs elect new executive committee under Tater

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Jan. 21: Vivek Tater of Vishal Plastocab Industries Pvt. Ltd. is unanimously elected the president of Plast Nepal Foundation (PNF) – an association of plastic manufacturing and related industries in Nepal. 

The 10th Annual General Assembly of the PNF organised in Kathmandu on Sunday elected Suyesh Pyakurel of MM Plastics as its senior vice-president, and Vineet Kumar Agrawal from Intertech Pipe and Fittings and Venkatesh Mundra of Anurag Import Export House as the VPs. 

Likewise, Ashik Shrestha of Panchakanya Group, Sanjaya Agrawal of Siddartha Sunrise Industries, Arun Kumar Piya of Piya Plastic Industries, Bharat Raj Acharya of TSN Plastcare Industries, Jitendra Baid of Hilltake Industries and Ameet Rathi of Bagmati Moulding Industries have been elected the executive committee members of the PNF. 

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, Damodar Bhandari, said that the government is committed to creating an investment-friendly environment. He also expressed the government’s commitment to swiftly introduce regulations and operational guidelines in line with the spirit of the recently issued ordinance.

Minister Bhandari also pledged his support in the promotion and development of plastic sector industries. 

Newly elected PNF President Tater said that he would work to create sustainable and favourable policies for plastic industries. 

"We need to equally work on lobbying for the interest of industries as well as awareness and recycling campaigns. For this, we want to develop better cooperation and collaboration with the government and other stakeholders of plastics in Nepal and abroad," he said. 

According to Tater, the plastic industries are facing challenges like the poor quality of energy supply, high excise duty and high customs duty on raw materials, sometimes equal to the finished goods. 

"No one benefits from the imports of finished plastic goods. The government will lose the revenue, the public will lose the jobs and industries won't get the market for their products. So I would like to urge the government to support and promote the locally manufactured goods through policy and better environment," said Tater. 

Speaking at the AGM, the President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Chandra Prasad Dhakal, emphasised the importance of reusing plastic products. 

Highlighting that the plastic industry provides employment opportunities to thousands of individuals through its production, distribution, sales, and recycling processes, he stressed the need to promote the reuse of plastic items.

"There are certain areas where the use of plastic products must be reduced. It is also essential to focus on maintaining quality. However, we are currently in a situation where foreign currency must be spent to import raw materials required for plastic production. If we can encourage reuse, it would help save foreign currency," said Dhakal.

Outgoing President Deepak Shrestha said that as a developing country, Nepal needs global support to make plastic industries more sustainable and advanced. 

He said that to promote the healthy growth of plastic industries, the PNF has been organising various awareness programmes and plastic expo.