Asia-Pacific leads demand for packaging film

In 2012, Asia-Pacific was the major market for packaging film with around 35% of the market share, whilst North America and Europe held market shares of 25.3% and 24.1% respectively, says a report released by Research and Markets.  From 2013 to 2018, global packaging film consumption is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.5 per cent, whilst in terms of value, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8 per cent.

According to the report, two of the largest consumers will be China and India, mainly for their packaged food needs and improving healthcare infrastructure.

In terms of raw materials, polyethylene leads the market, representing 64 per cent of the total raw materials used in 2012. However, polyethylene films demand is growing at a faster rate than polyethylene films. BOPP is the mostly used raw material for flexible packaging film. In matured geographies such as North America and Europe, specialty films are gaining the demand.

Ever increasing applications in food and pharmaceutical packaging and in the untapped Asia-Pacific market are presenting good opportunities for the packaging film industry. Though polyethylene is used as a key material for packaging film production, polypropylene is slowly becoming the preferred choice for manufacturers. Specifically, BOPP films market is growing at a significant rate during the recent years.

Geographically, Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the market during the next five years. In the application segment, food packaging is the key application area. However, packaging films are now increasingly used in pharmaceutical and consumer goods packaging. In the consumer goods segment, films are primarily used in personal care products such as packing of soap, shampoo, and other cosmetic products.

The global packaging film market was estimated at $89,299.3 million in 2012, and expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2013 to 2018. Food packaging is the key application area for the packaging films and packaging film sales in food packaging market is expected to grow at 6.2% from 2012 to 2018.

Access the report.