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The rising income levels and ever-increasing rural consumption in India are key factors shaping the paint industry's growth in the country, according to Kuldip Raina, Director of legacy paint brand Shalimar Paints.
The top official at the paint company said they are increasingly focusing on rural India for growth opportunities. As visible in various government data, in the past few months, the rural pockets did remarkably well compared to the urban ones. "If you look at rural markets today, only 30-40 per cent of the surfaces up there are painted. So, if that is the case, then the maximum growth in going forward is to come from rural markets only," he Shalimar Paints Director said. Confident on the growth story, Raina further added that consumption is never a problem and Indian markets are full of opportunity for the players. "Indian market, from the point of view of consumption is never a problem. I don't see any problem for the next 10 years. Because it's penetrated and the categories is penetrated. The surfaces are yet to be kind of painted. So, this story is going to be a kind of growth story for the next, maybe, 10 years. So, I don't see any growth constrant," he said. Raina also emphasised the role of new construction in unban centres in driving growth for the paint industry. Post-Covid, the real estate sector has rebounded strongly, contributing to the demand for paints, he said, adding that government-mandated painting of infrastructure projects like bridges and flyovers has further boosted the industrial paint segment. The easing of inflation and rebates in the income tax announced in the Union Budget has led to positive changes in consumer behavior, according to Raina. He further added that the increased disposable incomes will improve the spending, benefitting the sector. "As disposable incomes go up, people will start spending more on their houses, more on their flats, more on their living," Raina said. "Now, in the last two months, or the current quarter, I see basically good growth in the paint industry. From relatively negative growth to positive growth, it will be maybe a single digit growth only, but from a negative to a positive growth will happen in the last quarter," said Raina. Despite the challenges posed by competition, rising raw material costs, and anticipations of US tariffs, Raina remains optimistic about the future of the paint industry. "Margins have drastically shrunk in the last year for everybody. But the market conditions are improving," he shared. As per Raina, the Indian paint industry will experience the impact of tariffs announced by the US, as 50-60 per cent of the raw materials consumed in the industry are being imported. "Any such kind of government ruling is going to definitely impact the prices," Raina said. The size of the India Paints and Coatings Market is expected to reach USD 15.04 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.38 per cent between 2024 and 2029, as per the ICICI direct report. (ANI)
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