Quick Answer
A biodegradable mulch film is a soil-safe agricultural cover made from a PLA PBAT blend that breaks down into CO2, water and biomass after the crop cycle. It leaves no microplastic in the field. Buyers in India looking for a manufacturer of biodegradable and compostable mulch films should check for CPCB certification, IS/ISO 17088 compliance, the right thickness of the film for the crop, and matched roll widths. Ukhi is a compostable and biodegradable mulch film manufacturer in India that produces EcoGran EGBF-ML resin in-house and supplies both granules to converters and finished rolls to growers.
What to Look for in a Biodegradable Mulch Film Supplier in India
Procurement teams evaluating a compostable and biodegradable mulch film manufacturer in India should check five things in order.
CPCB certificate
Under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, any company selling compostable plastics in India must hold a valid Central Pollution Control Board certificate. The seller applies for the certificate, links the product to a certified manufacturer, and prints a bar code and certificate number on every roll of compostable mulch film.
Lab reports
IS/ISO 17088 is the relevant standard, and a manufacturer can prove compliance with the same by testing the product at CIPET or an NABL-recognised laboratory.
In-house resin manufacture
Check whether the supplier makes the resin from which the biodegradable mulch is made, or only converts someone else’s material. Manufacturers who compound their own biopolymers for mulch films control batch-to-batch consistency, film thickness tolerance and the exact degradation window. Traders and pure converters depend on imported or third-party granules and cannot guarantee the same level of quality control. At Ukhi, we manufacture our EcoGran resin in-house and extrude the finished mulch film from it.
Ability to tune the film to the crop
The crops grown in Indian farms have cultivation cycles of 60, 90, 120 and 150-days, across very different soil and climate zones. A biodegradable mulching film supplier should offer mulch films suitable for each use case.
Drop-in compatibility
Converters who order resin to manufacture biodegradable mulch films themselves should confirm that the granules perform well on standard blown film lines without the need for new machinery.
Specifications That Matter When Buying Biodegradable Mulch Film
The specifications below cover most vegetable, fruit and row-crop applications where biodegradable mulch films are used in India.
| Specification | Typical range | Notes for buyers |
| Base material | PLA and PBAT blend, 60 to 70 percent PBAT | Balances flexibility with strength; a PLA PBAT mulch film is the industry standard |
| Thickness | 15 to 30 microns | Thinner film means more coverage per kilogram |
| Roll width | 600 to 1,800 mm, custom up to 2.1 m | Match to bed width and mulch-laying rig |
| UV stability | 90 to 120 days on-field | Should cover one full crop cycle |
| Tensile strength | Comparable to a 12 micron PE film | Resists tearing during tractor installation |
| Colour and finish | Black, silver-on-black, transparent | Black gives the best weed suppression |
| Soil biodegradation | 90 percent within 24 months at 25 degrees C | Verified against IS/ISO 17088 |
| Service-life grades | 60, 90, 120 or 150 days | Matched to the crop cycle |
Materials and Processes Used to Make Compostable Mulch Film
Materials
A soil biodegradable mulch film is made from a small set of raw materials, which are:
- PLA — A rigid, plant-based polymer made from fermented starch
- PBAT — A flexible, fully compostable co-polyester that behaves in the field much like conventional polyethylene
On its own, PLA is too brittle for a thin field film and PBAT alone is too soft, so the two are blended to produce farm-ready biodegradable mulch films. Manufacturers also add mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, talc or starch to bring cost down and reduce stiffness without affecting compostability of the mulch films.
Process
The dominant manufacturing process for biodegradable mulch films is blown film extrusion. In this process:
- Compounded granules are dried at around 60 degrees C,
- Fed into an extruder running at 140 to 170 degrees C,
- Forced through a ring-shaped die, and
- Inflated into a large bubble.
The bubble stretches the polymer in two directions at once, which gives the finished film balanced strength.
Our EcoGran EGBF-ML granules are compounded in-house and we can ship them either as resin to converters or as finished mulch film rolls to end users.
Certifications and Compliance to Look For in a Manufacturer in India
Every CPCB certified compostable mulch film sold in India has to tick off certain regulatory boxes.
- The CPCB certificate is the legal entry point into the market for any manufacturer.
- The certificate is issued only after material testing at a recognised laboratory such as CIPET.
- IS/ISO 17088 is the underlying standard to test compostability. The mulch film must satisfy four requirements:
- biodegradation of the polymer into CO2, water and biomass;
- physical disintegration below 2 mm within 12 weeks;
- ecotoxicity clearance so that the residue supports plant growth;
- and heavy-metal limits within the prescribed caps.
- Manufacturers must procure state-level clearance from the SPCB or PCC within three months of the CPCB provisional certificate, failing which the CPCB certificate is revoked.
- Every mulch roll should have the word “COMPOSTABLE” printed on it in English and the regional language, along with the manufacturer’s name and CPCB code, the certificate number, and a QR code that is linked to information of the manufacturer’s CPCB registration.
Note: Oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastics are banned in India, because they fragment into microplastics rather than biodegrading.
Exporters who supply biodegradable and compostable mulch films to international brands should also look for relevant certifications like EN 13432 (Europe), ASTM D6400 (USA) and TÜV OK Compost.
UKHI mulch films are IS/ISO 17088 compliant, CIPET tested, and produced under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and GMP systems.
How Much Does Biodegradable Mulch Film Cost in India
Prices of biodegradable and compostable mulch films in the Indian market fall into a wide band because material composition, thickness, roll size and order volume all affect the number.
- On a per-kilogram basis, standard biodegradable mulch film sells between ₹100 and ₹350 per kg.
- Biodegradable mulch films made from filler-heavy PBAT blends are priced at the lower end.
- Mid-range PLA/PBAT based mulch films are priced at anything between ₹190 and ₹350 per kg.
- The price of mulch films made from specialty biodegradable compounds can cross ₹850 per kg.
- On a per-roll basis, the price of a standard 400 to 800 metre roll of biodegradable mulch film ranges from ₹900 to ₹3,600, depending on width and thickness.
Compared with conventional polyethylene mulch, the compostable resin itself costs two to three times more. Still, the total cost of ownership of biodegradable mulch films can be considered at par or lower than traditional mulch films, once the costs of post-harvest labour associated with traditional mulch films is counted.
Why?
- PE based mulch film has to be pulled out of the field, transported and disposed of.
- Biodegradable mulch film is ploughed back into the soil.
In a 2024 study of potato farms, it was found that biodegradable mulch cost ₹2,04,000 per hectare against ₹1,74,000 for PE, but returned ₹3,17,370 per hectare versus ₹2,49,210, giving a benefit-cost ratio of 2.56. Most farms where high-value crops are cultivated can achieve cost parity within one to two seasons.
For an exact biodegradable mulch film price per kg on our EcoGran mulch films range, buyers can share thickness, width and annual volume, and we will quote against those inputs.
Why Procurement Teams Choose Ukhi as Their Compostable Mulch Film Manufacturer
Ukhi brings significant advantages to the table, as a compostable and biodegradable mulch film manufacturer in India.
- We manufacture the biodegradable and compostable resin for our mulch films in-house. Our EcoGran EGBF-ML resin is designed, compounded and extruded within our own facility. This allows us to control quality at the granule level rather than the finished mulch film roll.
- Our biodegradable and compostable granules are drop-in compatible with standard blown film lines. So, converters who manufacture biodegradable mulch films can switch to EcoGran without buying new extruders, dies or winders.
- The service life of our biodegradable mulch films is tunable to 60, 90, 120 or 150-day crop cycles.
- The roll widths of our biodegradable and compostable mulch films can be customised up to 2.1 m.
- We tick off all the regulatory boxes relevant for manufacturers of biodegradable and compostable mulch films in India.
- Our material science and manufacturing technology is backed by IIT Guwahati, IIT Mandi Catalyst and IIM Bangalore NSRCEL.
Procurement teams who want to evaluate UKHI biodegradable mulch film on their own bed size and crop can request a free sample, which we will ship within seven days at no cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between biodegradable and compostable mulch film?
A biodegradable mulch film breaks down through microbial action over time. A compostable mulch film does the same but within a defined period and without leaving toxic residue, and is tested against a standard such as IS/ISO 17088.
2. Which crops is biodegradable mulch film suitable for in India?
Biodegradable and compostable mulch films can be used for:
- vegetable crops such as tomato, brinjal, chilli and capsicum,
- fruits like watermelon and strawberry, and
- floriculture, vineyards and greenhouse row crops.
3. Is biodegradable mulch film allowed in certified organic farming?
Yes. A soil biodegradable mulch film that can fully break down and meets IS/ISO 17088 is accepted under India’s NOP-equivalent organic standards.
4. How thick should biodegradable mulch film be for a typical row crop?
For most row crops in India, an 18 to 25 micron black mulch film in a 1.2 metre width works well. For shorter crops, a 15 to 18 micron mulch film can be used.
5. What is the minimum order quantity for compostable mulch film from an Indian manufacturer?
Minimum order quantities for biodegradable and compostable mulch films vary by supplier. MOQ for standard commercial orders starts from 250 kg for custom widths and grades.
