The global bioplastics market is set to grow by 36 percent over the next 5 years.

Posted on 05/01/202105/01/2021 by AnEco

The results of the European Bioplastics (EUBP) annual market data update, presented today at the 15^th EUBP Conference, confirm the continued dynamic growth of the global bioplastics industry. “Our industry has successfully weathered the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. An outlook for bioplastics is also promising as the global market is predicted to grow by 36% over the next 5 years”, says François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics.

The global bioplastics production capacity is set to increase from around 2.1 million tonnes in 2020 to 2.8 million tonnes in 2025. Innovative biopolymers, such as bio-based PP (polypropylene) and especially PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) continue to drive this growth. Since PHAs entered the market, the share of this important polymer family continued to grow. Production capacities are set to increase successfully almost sevenfold in the next 5 years. The production of polylactic acid (PLA) will also continue to grow due to new investments in PLA production sites in China, the US, and in Europe. Currently, biodegradable plastics account for almost 60 percent of the global bioplastics production capacities. PHA and PLA are bio-based, biodegradable, and feature a wide array of physical and mechanical properties.

Packaging remains the largest field of application for bioplastics with almost 47 percent (0.99 million tonnes) of the total bioplastics market in 2020. The data also confirms that bioplastics materials are already being used in many other sectors, and the portfolio of the application continues to diversify. Segments, such as consumer goods or agriculture and horticulture products, continue to increase their relative share.

With a view to regional capacity development, Asia remains a major production hub with over 46 percent of bioplastics currently being produced there. Presently, one-fourth of the production capacity is located in Europe. This share is predicted to grow to up to 28 percent by 2025.

The land used to grow the renewable feedstock for the production of bioplastics is estimated to be 0.7 million hectares in 2020 and continues to account for 0.015 percent of the global agricultural area of 4.7 billion hectares. Despite the market growth predicted in the next five years, the land use share for bioplastics will only slightly increase to 0.02 percent.

Source: bioplastics.org.au