Solid phase polymerised PET - expected to grow by 8% this decade

Solid phase polymerised PET, commonly used for production of PET bottles, APET sheets and CPET sheets, has attained consumption levels of almost 9 million tonnes in 2002. Almost 92-93% of this consumption is dedicated to bottles manufactured by stretch blow moulding process to produce crystal clear products. Only 7-8% of the consumption is used for APET (Amorphous) or CPET (Crystalline) sheets.

The market of PET bottles is predominantly driven by carbonated drinks, though this forthcoming decade is likely to see higher growth from the mineral water segment. Infact, North America, which is way behind Europe for mineral water consumption has been showing significant growth in the last couple of years. Beer packing, which was expected to provide a very strong demand surge, currently has a very small share. It is expected that only about 100KT of PET bottles are presently used for beer. While sheet may grow much more than bottles, it is unlikely that it would have more than 4% share of the total PET market by 2010. The strong growth of mineral water could help in increasing its share by about 3-5%. The carbonated drinks although may lose some share, but would still continue to be the major application of PET by 2010.

North America presently is the largest consumer of PET. However Asia is expected to match North America in consumption by 2010, if not already achieved a few years earlier. Infact, significant capacity additions are being developed, particularly in China. Other Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan, India etc are also building up more capacities. Infact China will reach the levels of more than 1.3 million tonne capacity by 2003. The enhanced capacity build up could have an adverse effect on capacity utilization and hence prices. However this may help in providing growth stimules in the second half of this decade.
The capacity could increase from 11-12 million tonnes to almost 15 million tonnes, by 2005 while demand could go up to 11-11.5 million tonnes. At this capacity utlization, the polymer manufacturer may not be able to achive profits for reinvestment.

Most of the experts in PET believe that PET demand by 2010 would reach a level of 17 million tonnes.

Also Read
		Speciality	Speciality Fluroelastomers - increasingly used to meet stringent automotive requirements
		Addition	Addition of Peroxide Enhances Flow Behaviour of PP