Prospects for the Middle East and Africa plastic flexible packaging market look promising

Plastic bottles are usually highly adaptable in terms of material plasticity, which makes it far easier to apply many new packaging technologies to plastic bottles than to glass bottles. As a result, we find that although glass bottles have a long history in packaging, they have changed little over the years and show limited innovation in packaging, while plastic bottles, with their endless variety, have won more market orders. However, in recent years, competition in China's traditional plastic bottle packaging market has been fierce.

Fierce competition in plastic bottle packaging

For plastic bottle manufacturers, it is well known that their products are used for packaging in the beverage, food and pharmaceutical markets. These are the most traditional markets for plastic bottles, but in the current buyer's market, overcapacity and fierce competition are unavoidable.

For plastic bottle manufacturers, while competing with peers in these traditional packaging fields to consolidate their market position, it would clearly be beneficial to their development if they could open up markets that other peers have not noticed. On the one hand, fewer companies produce for these niche markets, and buyers find it harder to locate suppliers, so plastic bottle manufacturers can appropriately raise the price of individual plastic bottle products and increase profits. On the other hand, there is less competition in these markets; although orders are usually not numerous, when an order does come, the likelihood of closing the deal is often higher because there are fewer competing manufacturers.

However, newly entering plastic bottle manufacturers rarely know about these markets. Let us give some examples: in aquaculture, duckweed is often needed, and plastic hollow products are usually used for it; another example is the distillation flask on distilled water production equipment, as well as the irregularly shaped plastic bottles used on many mechanical devices. In addition, hollow plastic bottles are often needed for coating and decoration. Only plastic bottle manufacturers that have long been engaged in related production will understand these better.

Promising prospects for the plastic flexible packaging market in the Middle East and Africa

UK-based PCI Films Consulting recently issued a report stating that the market prospects for the plastic flexible packaging industry in the Middle East and Africa will be very promising over the next five years. During 2014-2019, demand for plastic flexible packaging in these regions is expected to grow by 5% annually.

The report notes that the total market value of plastic flexible packaging in the Middle East and Africa in 2013 was USD 4 billion, with per capita consumption of plastic flexible packaging at only USD 3. This figure is far behind Europe's USD 30. In view of this, PCI analysts believe that the plastic flexible packaging markets in these two regions have huge potential. As economic development accelerates, per capita consumption of plastic flexible packaging in the Middle East and Africa is bound to achieve leapfrog growth.

Data show that over the past five years, Nigeria's market demand for plastic flexible packaging has grown by 12% year after year. Therefore, PCI says the country is expected to become the largest plastic flexible packaging consumer market in the Middle East and Africa.

PCI says the main drivers of the rapid growth of the plastic flexible packaging market in the Middle East and Africa include: rapid population growth, accelerating urbanization, improved food processing technology, increased investment in the flexible packaging industry, and the wide promotion of packaging products.

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