Organizers of India's largest plastics trade show, Plastindia, have postponed the next edition of the show for one year, to February 2022, citing uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.
The event will now be held Feb. 17-21, 2022, at the Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds in New Delhi. Previously, it has been scheduled for Feb. 4-8, 2021.
In a letter to exhibitors, the show organizer Plastindia Foundation noted "the continuing COVID-19 pandemic for the past many months and the resultant uncertainty," and said it was making the decision for the health and safety of exhibitors and visitors.
The show is India's most international plastics fair and is normally held every three years. Its 2018 edition attracted 245,000 visitors over its six-day run, with 1,800 exhibiting companies from 44 countries, organizers said.
COVID-19 cases have been growing in India. In early September, the country surpassed Brazil for the second-highest number of reported infections globally, and currently has more than 4.8 million cases. trailing only the United States with more than 6.5 million cases.
India has the third-highest number of reported COVID-19 deaths worldwide, at 79,000, trailing Brazil and the United States, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
The 2021 edition of the show would have marked its return to its longtime home in New Delhi, after the 2015 and 2018 editions were held in the city of Gandhinagar, in Gujarat state.