China’s 2023 Packaging Market: Revenue Performance, Green Transition and Smart Packaging Outlook

Serving as a service-oriented manufacturing sector tied closely to the national economy and living standards, packaging carries substantial weight in China’s development. In 2022, the country recorded 9,860 packaging enterprises above the designated size—1,029 more than a year earlier. Their combined operating revenue reached RMB 1,229.334 billion, showing a year-on-year change of -0.70%, a pace 15.69 percentage points below the prior-year level.

According to the China Packaging Industry Development Plan (2021–2025), the 14th Five-Year Plan period calls for a “sustainable packaging strategy” to deliver stronger safety and control, a better industrial structure, greater independent innovation, wider use of advanced manufacturing, faster creation of a green development system, and effective global competitive advantages. The goal is for packaging to move into the mid-to-high end of global industrial and value chains, for China to join the ranks of the world’s packaging powerhouses, and for the sector to keep providing new momentum for building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Packaging also offers notable potential for cutting pollution and carbon. Available data indicate China consumes roughly 30 million tonnes of packaging materials each year, while packaging waste makes up 30%–40% of municipal solid waste. Downstream consumer goods firms therefore need to join upstream packaging manufacturers in developing green packaging solutions and in building a full-lifecycle green system that spans materials, design and other stages, so as to support high-quality growth.

A research report from the Zhongyan Puhua Industry Institute:

In-depth Market Analysis and Development Strategy Research Report of the Packaging Industry, 2023–2028

Packaging is a trillion-yuan market. Paper packaging, its largest sub-sector, accounts for a market size close to RMB 330 billion. High-end packaging in Chinese consumer electronics, tobacco, alcohol, cosmetics and food/pharmaceuticals is forecast to have a potential market of RMB 100 billion.

After a period of rapid expansion, China’s packaging sector has built a sizable production base and become a key part of the country’s manufacturing landscape. While the overall trend is sound and China now ranks as the world’s second-largest packaging country after the United States, per capita packaging consumption still trails major global countries and regions by a wide margin, leaving broad room for growth across sub-sectors. The China Packaging Federation’s China Packaging Industry Development Plan (2021–2025) sets out comprehensive upgrading goals for the 14th Five-Year Plan in modernization, digitalization, safety, quality and green development, steering the industry from traditional to advanced manufacturing.

In recent years, China has set targets to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. It has issued documents including the CPC Central Committee and State Council Opinions on Fully, Accurately and Comprehensively Applying the New Development Philosophy and Doing a Good Job in Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality; the State Council Notice on Issuing the Action Plan for Carbon Peaking Before 2030; the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment and Improvement of a Green, Low-Carbon and Circular Development Economic System; the 14th Five-Year Plan for Circular Economy Development; and the 14th Five-Year National Cleaner Production Promotion Plan. These policies raise the bar and add pressure for the packaging industry’s green transition. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, packaging growth is expected to run slightly above the national economic average; by the end of the period, annual output value should surpass RMB 3 trillion and represent about 2.5% of national GDP.

As the future largest packaging consumer market and producer of packaging products, China is expected to see its packaging industry grow more than 2.5% above the global average, indicating ample development room. The sector remains in a rapid-growth phase. As more packaging materials are discovered and adopted, China’s material choices will become more diverse. China’s packaging industry is set to meet the needs of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and to become a new type of Chinese packaging industry featuring high technology content, strong economic returns, low resource consumption, minimal environmental pollution and fully utilized talent advantages. The 5G era will further drive smart packaging.

When combined with smart packaging, 5G can rely on an Internet of Things that connects all things. Through sensing and communication devices such as RFID, infrared sensors and global positioning, product packaging and even broader objects can be linked to networks for information exchange and communication, enabling real-time intelligent identification, positioning, tracking and monitoring.

Related data show that by 2024, the global packaging market value is projected to rise from USD 917 billion in 2019 to USD 1.05 trillion.

China has already become the world’s largest packaging and printing consumer market and producer of packaging products.

“Green, low-carbon and eco-friendly” remains a key goal for the packaging industry’s future. As green packaging policies such as the “plastic restriction order” tighten step by step, the cost of using plastic and glass packaging keeps rising, and relevant industries urgently need more environmentally friendly materials to replace the roles played by plastic and glass packaging.

The packaging industry report provides a detailed and prudent forecast and argument regarding the development trends of China’s reagent industry. With substantial data and rich charts, the report combines in-depth analysis with intuitive comparison, helping reagent enterprises identify opportunities in fierce market competition and adjust business strategies accurately and promptly in line with their own circumstances.

—This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-379427.html