Karnal sits in a quiet but heavyweight slice of the Indian economy. It is the centre of India's basmati rice export trade, home to IARI's regional research station, a strong dairy belt anchored by the National Dairy Research Institute, and a steady run of agri-equipment and food-processing units feeding off NH-44. Every one of those activities ends up needing the same thing at the back of the loading bay — clean, dimension-stable plywood for packing cases, pallets and container floors. That is the slice of the market the Cochin Wood group has been serving for forty years, and it is why we move material 2,350 km north out of Kochi to Haryana on a regular cycle.
The Karnal industrial picture
Karnal's industrial activity is concentrated along a few well-defined corridors rather than one single estate. Buyers we talk to in the city are usually located in or shipping out of:
- Sector 3 and Sector 6 industrial areas — older HSIIDC plotted estates with rice mills, dal units and packaging converters.
- HSIIDC Industrial Estate, Karnal (Sector 39 / Bastara belt) — newer plots running along NH-44 toward Panipat, with agri-machinery, cold storage and food-processing units.
- Taraori and Nilokheri belts — the basmati paddy heartland north of the city, where mills and exporters dominate.
- Madhuban / NDRI campus zone — dairy research, instrumentation and pilot-plant equipment that ships in crates.
- IARI Regional Station and ICAR campuses — agricultural research, demanding ISPM-15 compliant export crating for instruments and germplasm consignments.
The common thread is that almost every outgoing shipment from Karnal is either a food-grade export carton load, a heavy and irregular piece of agri-equipment, or research material going to a partner institute abroad. All three end up specifying plywood, not solid wood, for the outer pack.
What we ship into Karnal
The material mix flowing into Karnal from our Kerala factories is fairly predictable. Below is the typical thickness and grade pattern we send up the lane, with usage notes for the city's main verticals.
Packing-grade plywood for rice and food export
Basmati exporters in Taraori, Nilokheri and Sector 3 ship in 20 ft and 40 ft containers, usually with stacked 5 kg, 10 kg and 20 kg consumer bags inside master cartons. The plywood goes into:
- Bottom load boards and dunnage sheets — 12 mm and 14 mm commercial / rubberwood packing-grade ply, 4x8 ft, used to spread point loads on the container floor and protect the bottom layer of bags during long sea voyages to the GCC, EU and US.
- Top covers and side liners — 8 mm and 10 mm sheets to stop carton crush during stevedoring.
- Pallet decks for reefer or dry export — 12 mm packing-grade ply on a hardwood runner frame for 1100x1100 mm and 1200x1000 mm pallets.
Crates for agri-equipment, dairy plant parts and research instruments
This is where ISPM-15 heat-treated construction becomes non-negotiable. For Karnal's agri-machinery makers and for IARI / NDRI export consignments we typically build:
- Closed crates in 12 mm or 15 mm packing-grade plywood on a 75x50 mm or 100x50 mm hardwood frame.
- Open slatted crates with 18 mm sheets where the consignment is large but light (extruded parts, frames, panels).
- Heavy-duty bolted crates with 18 mm plywood skins and internal bracing for transformers, pump assemblies and dairy plant equipment.
Pallets and container flooring
Standard four-way entry pallets in 1200x1000 mm and 1100x1100 mm are the bulk of pallet demand for the city's exporters. For specialised loads — machinery shipments out of the HSIIDC Sector 39 belt — we also ship pre-cut 18 mm container flooring blanks sized to drop into 20 ft and 40 ft container floors as a sacrificial layer protecting the original deck.
Indicative selling rates (ex-factory, GST and transport extra)
| Material | Thickness | Rate (Rs / sq.ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial / rubberwood packing-grade ply | 8 mm | 28 |
| Commercial / rubberwood packing-grade ply | 12 mm | 33.5 |
| Commercial / rubberwood packing-grade ply | 15 mm | 39 |
| Commercial / rubberwood packing-grade ply | 18 mm | 42 |
| Jackwood hardwood runners | 1/4 inch minus | Rs 400 / cft |
| Okoume export-grade plywood | On request | Quote per consignment |
Kochi-to-Karnal logistics
Karnal is roughly 2,350 km from our Perumbavoor cluster by road. We work the lane two ways depending on volume and urgency:
- Full-truck road movement — single-driver and team-driver 32 ft and 40 ft multi-axles up NH-66 / NH-48 through Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nagpur, then NH-44 via Delhi to Karnal. Transit is typically 7-9 days for team-drive, 9-11 days for single-driver, depending on monsoon and Delhi border conditions.
- Rail / coastal-and-road combination — for larger consolidated loads we move material into a North India hub by rail or by coastal feeder to Mundra / Pipavav and trans-ship by road into Karnal. This is slower (12-15 days) but materially cheaper on per-sheet landed cost for very large orders.
For most Karnal buyers the FTL road option wins because it delivers directly into the factory gate without a second handling. Cut sizes and pre-assembled crate kits are loaded so that the buyer can unload onto a level surface and move straight to the packing line.
Decision rules — packing grade vs Okoume vs shuttering ply
Karnal buyers ask this often, so a clear short answer:
- Use packing-grade commercial / rubberwood plywood for rice export pallets, dunnage, food-export crates and most agri-equipment cases. It is the workhorse and the rate card above is built around it.
- Specify Okoume face veneer when the consignee is European or Japanese and demands a clean, light, uniform face — for example precision instruments shipped from IARI / NDRI labs to overseas research partners, or premium machinery exports where the crate itself is part of the buyer experience. Okoume is a face-veneer option on the MR-Packing and BWR grades, not a separate quality tier.
- Use shuttering ply only if the end use is concrete formwork on a Karnal construction project. Shuttering grade is a poor choice for export packing — it is heavier, oilier and not designed for one-way disposable use.
FAQ — Karnal buyers
Do you handle ISPM-15 marking for our export crates?
Yes. Crates built for export consignments out of Karnal are constructed from heat-treated timber and stencilled with the IPPC mark and our registered HT facility code, so they clear phytosanitary inspection at any port of loading without rework.
What is the minimum order you'll send to Karnal?
Because of the 2,350 km lane, the economics work best at a full truckload — roughly 18-22 tonnes of plywood and timber. We do consolidate smaller orders with other North India deliveries where the schedule allows; ask us when you enquire.
Can you cut sheets to size before despatch?
Yes. Most Karnal customers receive pre-cut blanks matched to their carton, pallet or crate drawing. Cutting at our Kerala plant reduces site waste and lets you unload directly onto the packing line.
Request a quote
If you are a rice exporter, agri-equipment manufacturer, dairy plant supplier or research institute in or around Karnal and you need packing-grade plywood, export crates, pallets or container flooring delivered to your factory gate, we would be glad to quote the consignment. Share thickness, sheet size, monthly volume and delivery sector and we will come back with rates, lead time and a proposed dispatch plan. Request a quote from our team, or browse the resource hub for specifications, ISPM-15 notes and packing-case design guides before you write to us.