Global market for plastics additives and barrier coatings to grow by 4.6% pa till 2014

27-Jul-10

The global market for plastics additives and barrier coatings is set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6% to total US$752 mln by 2014, according to a new report from Pira International. The key growth factor is rapidly increasing demand for packaging materials with greater protection to their contents. Additives and barrier coating technologies optimise product shelf life, reduce the need for preservatives, provide transparency and gloss, and serve as a printing substrate. Key drivers for the growth, which is predicted to outstrip growth in the overall packaging market, are increasing consumer demand for convenience and product safety. There is also a growing demand for smaller PET bottles, which have a higher surface area per unit volume and therefore require better protection than larger bottles. The market for functional plastic packaging additives is set to have a CAGR of 3.9%, while the barrier coatings market is set to grow 4.6% over the next four years. In the barrier coatings area, PVdC coatings had 38.2% of all market value in 2009, the largest share, followed by metallised coatings (31.1%) and EVOH (18.1%). Growth rates in western Europe and North American are slower than the global average. The highest growth rates are in China and India at over 10%. In 2009, Asia Pacific had the largest share of the additives and barrier market (42%), followed by North America (24.5%), western Europe (19.9%), central and eastern Europe (5.4%), South America (3.9%) and the rest of the world (4.3%).