Four years back the Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh had been considered as a very attractive destination for plywood manufacturing, because of the affordable availability of timber in the region. But now the situation has changes with increased number of units and manufacturing capacity. Timber availability in nearby area was an advantage for plywood manufacturers in the region.
With time the situation has changed and the timber price has reached from Rs 4000 to Rs 7000 per quintal now. Alternatively, in these four years the production capacity in this region has increased by three times. The Plywood manufacturing capacity based at Vizag belt has increased many times, because the units are enabled with modern technology. The plywood group based in this region like SIAMPly, Solid Ply, Everest Ply have increased their manufacturing capacity with installing new machines. Besides, some new units have started production in this area.
With rising capacity at Vishakhapatnam the timber consumption has increased. The report also says that earlier when the timber availability was high and consumption was less it was used to supply to nearby states like West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. Now the industry says that they are getting a timber shortage and the availability will be a challenge for the existing industry. The situation is pushing its price up that is increasing the input cost. Some players are targeting to pushing up the prices of finished products on the other hand many plants are running under capacity due to timber scenario.
Vizag belt is known as the producers of good quality plywood in India, having organised work culture with team and marketing efforts. Industry sources admit the growing challenges of peeling grade timber in region but the area is still attractive for panel producers of MDF and Particle Boards. Fuel wood are also available at offordable prices here, which has turned high for plywood units located in north India.