Bioplastics: positive trend for production capacities

The market data update, presented at the 9th European Bioplastics Conference in Brussels, confirm the positive growth trend of the global bioplastics production capacities, set to increase from around 1.6 million tonnes in 2013 to approximately 6.7 million tonnes by 2018.

Biobased, non-biodegradable plastics, such as biobased PE and biobased PET, are gaining the most.
PLA is a major growth driver in the field of biobased and biodegradable plastics. Furthermore, renewable and compostable plastics produced locally are likely to benefit from the new EU directive on the reduction of shopping bags. Flexible and rigid packaging remains by far the leading application field for bioplastics. Besides this, a decisive growth can be observed in textiles and automotive applications.

With a view to regional capacity development, Asia will expand its role as major production hub. Most of the currently planned projects are being implemented in Thailand, India and China. About 75 percent of bioplastics will be produced in Asia by 2018. In comparison: Europe at the forefront of research and development will be left with only roughly 8 percent of the production capacities. Additionally, other regions of the world, such as the USA and Asia, invest into measures “closer to market introduction”, which results in a faster market development than in Europe.