Global bioplastics market growing at over 17% pa to exceed $2.8 billion in 2018

The worldwide bioplastics market will reach revenues of over US$2.8 bln in 2018 with annual growth rates of 17.8% as per Ceresana Research. High expectations will be placed on the bioplastic industry in the future. Bioplastics are supposed to contribute to protecting the climate, provide a solution for the packaging-waste issue, reduce dependence on fossil-based raw materials and improve the image of plastic products. With a roughly 48% share of global demand, Europe was the largest outlet for bioplastics in 2010, followed by North America and Asia-Pacific. Over the next 8 years, shares in demand of the individual world regions will shift significantly. Ceresana forecasts two regions to considerably influence the bioplastics market: Asia-Pacific and South America. Because of dynamic growth in consumption and production, Asia-Pacific will expand its share of bioplastics demand. As a result, Asia-Pacific will almost draw level with Europe and North America. In addition, South America will see strong growth, mainly as a result of massive increases in production in Brazil. Demand trends of the individual bioplastic grades show significant regional differences. While PLA demand in North America is projected to rise by 12% pa by 2018, it will soar by almost 17% pa in Asia-Pacific. In 2010, most demand was accounted for by starch-based plastics, followed by polylactic acid (PLA). Other bio-based plastics (PHA/PHB, cellulose, PBS) as well as fossil-based biodegradable plastics accounted for just less than 17 percent of global demand. Accordingly, biodegradable plastics are currently dominating the bioplastics market with a roughly 92 percent share. Non-biodegradable plastics based on renewable resources are forecasted to increase their market share from 8% in 2010 to more than 47% in 2018. Technical progress in production and significant growth in capacities will allow manufacturers to lower prices and therefore to further increase the competitiveness of bioplastics against conventional plastics. New products provide additional growth perspectives: The extended product range allows for using bioplastics in an increasing number of application areas. The report from Ceresana explains how product innovations, new production capacities, legislative changes, and growing environmental awareness will influence the market. Buyers worldwide include manufacturers of bags & sacks. Loose-fill ranks second, closely followed by packaging and films. The automotive and electronic industries as well as other applications (e.g. catering products, hygiene articles, textiles, sports and leisure products) account for just less than one-fifth of global demand. Although bags & sacks as well as loose-fill are expected to register further growth over the next years, packaging and films as well as automotive and electronics will see the biggest gain. Due to an extended range of biodegradable products, these sectors are predicted to record annual increases of more than 30%.

The bioplastics industry is growing rapidly, thanks to increasing demand from a wide range of applications, as per companies and markets. The global bioplastics market is set to hit nearly 2 mln tons in terms of volume in five years time, which is effectively four times the size of the market in 2007. Bioplastics are being increasingly used in a growing range of end-use markets, including automotive, consumer electronics, food and the medical industry. Notably, major companies are beginning to adopt bioplastics in their processes and applications. For example AT&T has introduced sugar cane PE for its packaging of some consumer devices. Coca-Cola is using PlantBottle packaging in a new spring water facility in Africa. Nestle, the global food giant, is working on 30 projects to use more bioplastics in its packaging. Some of Danone's dairy products use Braskem's sugar cane polyethylene plastic. The automotive industry is also getting in on the act. Toyota has adopted bio-PET in some of its internal car trim. Even Fuji Xerox is using bioplastics in its copiers, adopting polylactic acid in some of its plastics parts. Bioplastics have evolved to play a vital role in a number of end use industries, such as packaging, agriculture, gastronomy, consumer electronics, medical and automotive, among others. These materials have found application in developing products designed for the short-term, including mulch films, catering products, packaging and waste bags.
As per MarketResearch.com, the global bioplastics market is expected to reach 1.9 mln metric tons by 2017 from an estimated 264,000 tons in 2007, growing by a CAGR of 22% during 2007-2017. The market for 2011 is estimated at 476,000 tons and expected to reach 574,000 tons. Bioplastics have evolved to play a vital role in a number of end use industries, such as packaging, agriculture, gastronomy, consumer electronics, medical and automotive, among others. These materials have found application in developing products designed for the short-term, including mulch films, catering products, packaging and waste bags. Furthermore, technological developments have ensured that the range of bioplastics' applications is ever expanding to include keyboard elements, mobile phone covers and selected automobile components, which have now assumed significant magnitudes. Bioplastics are no longer the exclusive realm of biodegradable or compostable plastics made from natural materials such as corn or starch. In fact, bioplastics are also being applied to degradable petroleum based plastics, natural-based plastics that are not necessarily biodegradable and plastics containing both petroleum-based and plant-based materials that could biodegrade or not. Growing public concern regarding the environment, climate change and constricted fossil fuel resources represent key drivers for governments, companies, and researchers to unveil safer alternatives to petroleum-based plastic

Global demand for biodegradable and bio-based plastics will more than triple to over 1 mln tons in 2015, valued at US$2.9 bln, as per The Freedonia Group, Inc. Bioplastics have moved past the initial phase of market introduction and are now experiencing robust increases in demand in virtually all parts of the world. Gains will be fueled by a number of factors, including consumer preferences for environmentally sustainable materials, improved performance of bioplastic resins relative to traditional plastics, and the introduction of commodity plastics produced from bio-based sources. Ultimately, however, price considerations will be the primary determinant of bioplastic market success, and it is expected that rising petroleum costs will allow some bioplastic resins to be able to achieve price parity with conventional plastics by the end of the decade. Biodegradable plastics accounted for 90% of the world bioplastics market in 2010. Excellent growth is forecast for the two leading biodegradable plastics, starch-based resins and polylactic acid (PLA), both of which will more than double in demand through 2015. The fastest gains for biodegradable plastics, however, will be seen for polyhydroxy-alkanoate (PHA) resins, which are just entering the commercial market. Despite the strong advances for biodegradables, non-biodegradable bio-based resins will be the primary driver of bioplastics demand through 2015 and beyond. Gains will be fueled by the availability of commercial quantities of bio-based polyethylene from Braskem�s 200,000 tpa plant in Brazil, which opened in late 2010. Two other bio-based polyethylene plants - as well as a bio-based polypropylene facility - are also in the planning stages and are expected to open around 2015. Additionally, industrial production of fully bio-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is forecast to become a reality by the end of the decade. As a result, demand for non-biodegradable bioplastics will rise from 30,000 tons in 2010 to 1.3 million tons in 2020.