NEW DELHI
\nThe Iran war is rattling India\u2019s $5 billion packaged water market just ahead of the sweltering summer season. One of the world\u2019s fastest growing bottled water markets is seeing some manufacturers hike prices for distributors, as supply disruptions linked to the war fuel higher costs in everything from plastic bottles to caps, labels and cardboard boxes.
\nThough retail prices are yet to feel the heat and bigger companies are absorbing the pain, about 2,000 smaller bottled water makers have increased rates for their resellers by around 1 rupee per \u200cbottle, a \u200c5 percent hike, which will rise by a further 10 percent in coming \u200cdays, according to the Federation of All India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers\u2019 Association.
\nConsumers usually pay less than 20 rupees, or around 20 US cents, for a one-liter bottle. \u201cThere is chaos and within the next 4-5 days, this will start impacting customer prices,\u201d said Apurva Doshi, the federation\u2019s secretary general.
\nRising oil prices have increased the cost of polymer, which is made from crude oil and is a key material for the industry\u2019s plastic bottles. The cost of material used in making plastic bottles has risen by 50 percent to 170 rupees per kilogram, \u200cwhile the price of the caps has more than \u200cdoubled to 0.45 rupees apiece. Even corrugated boxes, labels and adhesive tape are costing much more, \u200cindustry letters showed.
\nClean water is a privilege in the country of 1.4 billion people where \u200cresearchers say 70 percent of the groundwater is contaminated, leaving people reliant on bottled water. Companies including Bisleri, Coca-Cola\u2019s Kinley, Pepsi\u2019s Aquafina, billionaire Mukesh Ambani\u2019s Reliance and Tata all compete for a share of the $5 billion market. The companies did not respond to Reuters request for comment.
\nWithin the broad bottled water market, natural mineral water is a $400 million business in India and a new, fast-growing wellness product for India\u2019s wealthy. The premium water segment accounted for 8 percent of the bottled water market last year in India, compared to just 1 percent in 2021, Euromonitor says.
\nAava, which sells mineral water sourced from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains, has increased prices of its water bottles by 18 percent for resellers, Shiroy Mehta, CEO of the company, told Reuters. \u201cMost manufacturers are absorbing 40-50 percent of the cost to ensure that they don\u2019t lose clients. It\u2019s a poor situation for the beverage industry ahead of the summer season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI The Iran war is rattling India\u2019s $5 billion packaged water market just ahead of the sweltering summer season. One of the world\u2019s fastest growing bottled water markets is seeing some manufacturers hike prices for distributors, as supply disruptions linked to the war fuel higher costs in everything from plastic bottles to caps, labels […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-536263","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n