Cheaper imports and the persistently high cost of production have soda ash manufacturers worried. Demand in the country in 2012-13 showed healthy growth of 10-11 per cent, led by healthy growth from the detergents and chemicals segments (that from the flat glass and bottle glass industries witnessed below-par growth).
However, a large part of the demand was met by rising imports, up 15-20 per cent to around 650,000 tonnes.
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