Market for biopolymers

13-Mar-08

With high oil prices and increasing awareness of environmental footprint, the market for biopolymers is growing exponentially in Europe and USA. There are also growing awareness & interest in Asia, especially in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea & Thailand who are now leading the way. How is Asia performing in this respect and what role will Asia play in this business? These issues will be discussed at CMT's 2nd Bioplastics Markets on 16-17 April 2008 in Shanghai, China. According to PackagingKnowledge news in Nov 2007 - Bioplastics have a small but growing market. NatureWorks, which has expanded its production capacity 35 times since 1999, is on track to generate more than 150,000 tons of its polymers by the end of 2007, the bulk of which would be spread across some 45,000 retail shelves worldwide, from England to South Korea. Brand owners like Sony is currently using polymers by NatureWorks for Walkman casings. In view of their new initiatives, CMT has invited Sony Corporation to share their experience and product development in bioplastics application in consumer electronics devices. Natureworks, on the other hand will speak on the development of PLA market worldwide. Also, will China's plan to ban the use of plastic bags from 1 June 2008, present more opportunities for the nascent bioplastics industry to flourish? This will be the focus of the presentation by Mr. Ma Xingfa, Section Chief for Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality who will look into the impact of this issue and opportunities for other materials including bioplastics. Other key industry leaders invited to speak include The Office of Science and Technology Committee of the XXIX Olympaid and Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination who will present case studies on the progress developments and potential of biodegrable plastics applications in relation to the Beijing 2008 Olympics - The Green Olympic concept and Shanghai World expo 2010. The 2nd Bioplastics Markets, the most awaited conference is endorsed by Shanghai Society for Advanced Materials (SSAM) and supported by Thai Bioplastics Industry Association (TBIA), Japan BioPlastics Association (JBPA) and Korean Biodegradable Plastics Association (KBPA).