Middle East and Africa Plastic Flexible Packaging Market Looks Promising as PCI Forecasts 5% Annual Growth for 2014-2019

Thanks to superior material malleability, plastic bottles can absorb many new packaging technologies far more easily than glass bottles. Glass bottles may have a long packaging heritage, yet they have evolved slowly and lag in packaging innovation. Plastic bottles, meanwhile, have captured more orders by offering a wide range of formats. In recent years, however, China's traditional plastic bottle packaging sector has seen mounting competition.

Rising competition in plastic bottle packaging

Plastic bottle producers are well known to serve beverage, food and pharmaceutical packaging. These segments form the most traditional demand base for plastic bottles, but in a buyer-driven market, excess capacity and tough rivalry are inevitable.

Beyond battling peers in established packaging categories to protect market share, plastic bottle manufacturers can gain a clear advantage by targeting demand overlooked by competitors. These niche markets have fewer producers, and buyers often find it difficult to locate suppliers, so manufacturers may be able to charge higher prices per plastic bottle and lift margins. Competition is also lighter; order volumes may be modest, but when an inquiry turns into an order, the win rate is often higher because fewer suppliers are in the running.

New entrants, though, are rarely aware of such opportunities. In aquaculture, for instance, duckweed is often needed and plastic hollow products are commonly used. Other examples include distillation flasks for distilled water production equipment and irregular plastic bottles used on many machines. Coating and decoration work also frequently requires hollow plastic bottles. Only manufacturers with long experience in related production tend to understand these requirements.

Middle East and Africa flexible packaging outlook remains promising

UK-based PCI Films Consulting recently published a report stating that the plastic flexible packaging industry in the Middle East and Africa has highly promising market prospects for the next five years. During 2014-2019, demand for plastic flexible packaging in these regions is projected to rise by 5% annually.

The report says the Middle East and Africa plastic flexible packaging market was worth USD 4 billion in 2013, while per capita plastic flexible packaging consumption stood at just USD 3. That is far behind Europe's USD 30. PCI analysts therefore see substantial untapped potential in both regions. As economic growth speeds up, per capita consumption of plastic flexible packaging in the Middle East and Africa is bound to achieve leapfrog growth.

Figures show that Nigeria's demand for plastic flexible packaging has grown by 12% per year over the past five years. PCI says the country is therefore likely to become the largest plastic flexible packaging consumer market in the Middle East and Africa.

PCI identifies the key drivers of rapid growth in the Middle East and Africa plastic flexible packaging market as rapid population growth, accelerating urbanization, advances in food processing technology, increased investment in the flexible packaging industry, and widespread promotion of packaging products.

Source: China Packaging Network (news.pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-373088.html. Copyright belongs to the original author; this article is for industry exchange and learning only.