New Delhi: The recent Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) declaration has given Polyethylene (PE) producers some much-needed relief as they had been rushing to fulfil the quality control deadline of 3 April 2023. They now have until October 3, 2023, to secure the certification they need to export their goods to India, per a BIS extension. The strain on Asia-Pacific producers who had yet to have their facilities assessed for compliance with BIS requirements has been greatly reduced as a result of this action. Sellers can now rest easy because the threat of their cargoes being confiscated at Indian ports has been avoided.

Several Middle Eastern producers have reportedly passed facility inspections and secured BIS licences in order to continue exporting to India, according to market participants. Substandard cargoes won't be allowed to enter India any longer due to the probable enforcement of BIS standards. Therefore, it is anticipated that exporters of these cargoes will switch their focus to other South Asian nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

The BIS first introduced the planned adoption of new PE standards in April 2021. The deadline was later extended by six months and was originally scheduled to begin in October of the same year. Two additional extensions were subsequently issued by the BIS in April and October 2022, making the most recent one for October 2023 the fourth, since the original deadline in October 2021.

The BIS also moved the deadline for polyesters to 3 July 2023 and prolonged the deadline for ethyl vinyl acetate copolymers to 3 October 2023.