Asia's packaging market poised for strong growth

LED by Asia Pacific, the future of packaging consumption in emerging regions will be marked by strong growth to 2015, according to new research from Pira International. Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa will drive growth in PET packaging consumption, with Asia Pacific expected to see a CAGR of 7.4% over the period. In comparison, Pira reports, mature markets such North America and Western Europe top-out at only 1 or 2 per cent. Pira expects the global average CAGR for the period 2010-2015 to be 4.8%, reaching 14.5 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, Pira said the luxury goods packaging market by value in Asia Pacific is expected to see a CAGR of 7.1% in the period to 2015. This outstrips the 4.9% projected for the global luxury packaging market as a whole and 3.0% for the global consumer packaging market. The region is now the clear leader in luxury packaging, accounting for 35% of world sales value in 2010.

Growth opportunities in PET
Whilst from 2010 to 2015 PET packaging is unlikely to register growth rates similar to those seen between 2000 and 2007, growth opportunities still remain, according to analyses in The Future of PET Packaging to 2015: Global Market Forecasts from Pira. Barrier PET bottles and jars for juice, milk, tea, beer, wine and food are forecast to register strong growth over the period 2010-15. The developing countries of Asia Pacific, South America and Eastern Europe will also show higher growth for PET packaging as a result of growing real incomes and the replacement of traditional pack formats by PET bottles.
According to Pira, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) are the largest end-use sector for PET packaging, accounting for a projected 35.9% share of consumption in 2010. Bottled water is the second-largest end-use sector for PET packaging with a projected 2010 share of 33.8%.
All other end-use sectors command a relatively minor share of PET packaging consumption, as the joint third-largest sectors, thermoforming and food bottles, each represent 7.1% of total consumption.
Bottled water is forecast to overtake CSDs as the largest end-use sector for PET packaging over the forecast period 2010-15. Other soft drinks, such as functional drinks, dairy drinks and ready-to-drink tea and coffee are also forecast to grow at a rate higher than that of PET packaging consumption as a whole. Pira estimates that there are also good growth opportunities for barrier food bottles and jars and thermoforming.
The development of PET bottles with enhanced gas-barrier properties presents a major market opportunity for PET preform and bottle producers over the period to 2015. According to Pira, barrier PET bottles are predicted to grow at a significantly higher rate than PET packaging as a whole. Beer, wine, juices, dairy products and food all present growth opportunities for barrier PET bottles and jars.
Pira also attributes development of the PET packaging market to continuous improvements in technology. Technological development is providing better barrier solutions, improved resin formulations, faster and more efficient PET processing machinery, and solutions for hot-filling and aseptic filling of PET packaging.
Rising real incomes in the emerging and developing markets of Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and South America will be the main driver of growth for PET packaging over the five years to 2015. Key demographic influences on global PET packaging growth include the faster-growing populations in these emerging markets.
Asia Pacific overtook North America and western Europe as the largest regional consumer of PET packaging during the period 2005-10, Pira therefore estimates that Asia Pacific will be the fastest-growing world region for PET packaging, accounting for almost half of total consumption growth foradidas