Pan masala industry to use paper, aluminium foil for packing tobacco products

KANPUR: The pan masala manufacturers in Kanpur have decided to use sachets made up of paper or aluminium foil for packing pan masala and gutkha instead of plastic pouches, following the ban imposed by the Supreme Court (SC) of India on the use of plastic to pack these tobacco products.

Rakesh Agarwal, the chairman of Kanpur Kirana Association has said that it was imperative for pan masala industry to find an alternative for plastic sachets as the ban imposed by the Supreme Court might hamper the productivity and business of pan masala manufacturing companies. However, this new packaging material would likely to cost these firms an additional amount of five-six paise per sachet.

Agarwal has said that almost 20 major pan masala brands are manufacturing gutkha and pan masala at their Kanpur facilities. He has said that the rise in the costs of packaging material would also likely to impact the market prices of finished tobacco products.