Chinese suppliers are meeting high growth in their own country

The market for biaxially oriented PP film in western Europe is set to slow down, according to a new report from PCI Films Consulting. West European BOPP film demand has grown by an average of 5% per annum in the last five years to reach an estimated 791,000 tonnes now. But the growth rate is expected to slow to less than 3% per annum over the next five years, according to PCI’s forecast.

In contrast, China’s BOPP market has been growing at an average of 14% per annum since 2000 and now accounts for almost one-third of the world’s consumption of BOPP film. There has been massive investment in BOPP film production capacity in China to meet this demand. But expectations of future demand growth in China has encouraged Chinese suppliers to plan new capacity for as soon as early 2007, said PCI.

The report’s author Simon King said: “Chinese film buyers seem to be showing little interest in buying other [non-Chinese] producers’ products, even the specialities, and Chinese film suppliers are so focused on meeting their domestic market needs, they have little interest in exports.” But “established BOPP producers should remain vigilant, and develop strategies to secure profitable business in the future”, he added.