The Italian packaging industry is in a good state of health with 2.6% growth in 2018

Production (+2.4%) and turnover (+2.6%) are up, in the wake of a dynamic domestic demand. The sector is confirmed to be export-oriented, with a positive balance of trade of over 2 billion euros..

The “Economic Packaging Conference - The market to be. Forecast 2019-2020", organized by the Italian Packaging Institute and promoted by Conai (National Packaging Consortium) was held June 12 Milan.

During the meeting, the economic and financial issues linked to the packaging supply chain were addressed from different points of view.

The focuses included ample space dedicated the theme of "sustainability", in the light of recent legislative updates in the European Union and the economic impact of these innovations throughout the industrial and commercial world, but also on the end consumer.

The conference was also an opportunity to present updated economic data on the packaging sector in Italy.

Sector turnover exceeded 33.4 billion euros in 2018, registering a +2.6% compared to 2017, while in volume the growth was slightly lower (+2.4%), bringing the production of empty packaging in Italy in excess of 16.7 million tons.

In 2018 it was domestic demand that drove production, with an increase of 2.6%. Imports registered +1.9%, while exports showed a lower rise compared to the past few years (+0.8%).

Among the various materials, the performance of wood (+4.5%), driven essentially by pallets and industrial packaging, glass (+2.9%), and flexible converter packaging (+2.5%) stand out, continuing to show a positive trend, year after year.

The performance of paper & cardboard (+2%), plastic (+1.1%) and steel & aluminium (+0.5%) packaging was less lively.

«The Italian packaging industry has proven to be a dynamic and continuously developing sector» said Anna Paola Cavanna, President of Istituto Italiano Imballaggio. «The balance of trade, with a surplus of over 2 billion euros, is particularly interesting. This means that our industry, although linked to manufacturing production, is also highly appreciated beyond Italy's borders, thanks to the production of innovative and sustainable packaging, able to guarantee a high degree of safety of the product contained. We will continue to make our associates aware of these issues, in order to maintain and increase the competitive advantage of the sector».

It is expected that the packaging sector's growth trend will tend to stabilize in the immediate future, registering a +0.5% in 2019, to then pick up again in the following years, based on the hypotheses formulated, reaching a rate of +1.4% in 2020 and a +1.9% in the two year period of '21-'22.