For beverage makers, govt's ban on plastic straws is the last straw

The companies said the ban would impact ease of doing business and affect consumers already dealing with high inflation costs

The government's ban on plastic straws, to be effective from July 1, will impact the ease of doing business, beverage manufacturers said in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister's Office. They further requested "an extended time frame for the transition from existing integrated straws to another commercially viable food-grade alternative".

In the letter, the Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons (AARC) lobby group argued that there is no viable alternative at present and said that the move "without having workable alternatives will render the portion-sized cartons unusable and have an impact of around Rs 5,000-6,000 crore on the food and beverage industry." They added that making the transition would require two to three years.

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The AARC represents more than 15 companies, including Parle Agro, Coca-Cola, Parag, Dabur and CavinKare, along with packaging firms such as Schreiber Dynamix and TetraPak.
The ban was first proposed in August 2021 in a bid to reduce plastic waste followed by a final notification issued in December, giving the industry six months to make changes.

According to a report in The Economic Times, the move will disrupt the fastest-growing categories of Rs 10 and Rs 20 cartons for manufacturers of packaged fruit juices and dairy products. "Importing paper straws will lead to companies being forced to increase Rs 10 price points at a time of very high inflation," AARC chief executive Praveen Agarwal told the newspaper.

Bigger firms include Parle Agro which sells Frooti and Appy; Coca-Cola and PepsiCo which sell juice brands such as Maaza and Tropicana in tetra packs with attached plastic straws; and others like Paperboat juices and dairy companies like Amul and Mother Dairy. Chairman of Varun Beverages, Ravi Jaipuria stated that increasing the entry-level Rs 10 price point is not an option and that the higher costs of importing paper straws would have to be absorbed if the ban is not extended.

Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, (AMUL), RS Sodhi stated that the company has also written separately to the ministry of environment, requesting deferment of the ban till next year. "While we support the government's intention to move to paper straws, there are no local alternatives available as of now, and importing paper straws is inflationary," he said.