Agricultural films are protective films that are placed over soil, wrapped around fodder or covered over greenhouses. Agricultural films offer several advantages such as reducing soil compaction and erosion, increasing soil temperature, providing nutrients, suppressing the growth of weeds, supporting seed germination, and protecting against UV rays. Agricultural films can be classified based on their applications as: greenhouse film, mulch film, and silage film. They are generally manufactured using polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer (EVOH) among other materials. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) dominate the overall agricultural films market. Due to capacity additions of PE in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, the prices of these films have relatively reduced. LLDPE is expected to be the fastest growing film type growing at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2013 to 2019. LLDPE and LDPE together accounted for more than 78% of the total demand in 2012, as per Research and Markets. LDPE film is expected to reach nearly US$2059 mln by 2019. Reclaimed films are widely used in developed countries due to environmental regulations regarding use of plastics. The consumption of reclaimed film is expected to reach nearly 315,000 tons by 2019. The other film types such as PVC, EVOH, etc. are expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% between 2013 and 2019. HDPE films find limited applications as they are known for their rigid characteristics.
10-Jan-14 
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