World Bioplastics Market Forecast to Hit $5 billion by 2018 Says New Report

PRLog (Press Release) - Nov 06, 2009 -
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According to the report “World Bioplastics: Industry forecasts for 2013 -2018” available at http://www.reportbuyer.com/go/FED00496 global demand for bioplastics, which include plastic resins that are biodegradable or derived from plant-based sources, will rise more than fourfold to 890,000 metric tons in 2013. This extraordinary growth will be fueled by a number of actors, including consumer demand for more environmentally-sustainable products, the development of bio-based feedstocks for commodity plastic resins, and increasing restrictions on the use of plastic products, particularly plastic bags. Most importantly, however, will be the expected continuation of high crude oil and natural gas prices, which will allow bioplastics to become more cost-competitive with petroleum-based resins. Looking ahead to 2018, world bioplastics demand is forecast to reach nearly two million metric tons, with a market value of over $5 billion.

Biodegradable plastics, such as starchbased resins, polylactic acid and degradable polyesters, accounted for the vast majority (nearly 90 percent) of bioplastics demand in 2008. Double-digit gains are expected to continue going forward, fueled in part by the emergence of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, such as  MIREL resins from Telles, on the commercial market. However, nonbiodegradable plant-based plastics will be the primary driver of bioplastics demand. In the next few years, Dow Chemical and Braskem are each planning to open plants in Brazil that will produce polyethylene from bio-based ethanol. Other firms are expected to open bio-based polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene facilities. As a result, demand for non-biodegradable plant-based plastics will increase from just 23,000 metric tons in 2008 to nearly 600,000 metric tons in 2013.

Western Europe Western Europe was the largest regional market for bioplastics in 2008, accounting for about 40 percent of world demand. Bioplastics sales in the region benefit from strong consumer demand for biodegradable and plant-based products, a regulatory environment that favors bioplastics over petroleum resins, and an extensive infrastructure for composting. Going forward, however, more rapid growth in demand will be found in the Asia/Pacific region, which will become the equal of the West European market by 2013. Gains will be stimulated by strong demand in Japan, which has focused intently on the replacement of petroleumbased plastics. Other world regions, such as Latin America and Eastern Europe, will see stellar gains in bioplastics demand from a very small 2008 base.

The report “World Bioplastics: Industry forecasts for 2013 - 2018” is available from Report Buyer at:
http://www.reportbuyer.com/industry_manufacturing/plasti ...

Report Buyer product ID: FED00496

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