The bioplastics market shows strength on the back of packaging sector, but feedstock may restrain demand
Plastic has become an indispensable part of our daily lives. We are using plastics made products on a daily basis. However, plastic waste is emerging a major threat for the environment, where the risk to the ocean life has been in the rise.
We have seen some approaches to restrain plastics usage by applying charges on its use, bans on plastic bags, weight reduction strategies, and even penalties. Indeed, these anti-plastic efforts helped to restrain plastic demand marginally in some applications, whilst benefited alternative materials.
Bioplastic is one of the growing products within the plastic industry which is trying to defend its family stronghold. Although its penetration is slow and faces numerous issues, still it is getting widely accepted. One of the key positive attributes of bio-plastic is that it is made from natural organic sources and can be relatively quickly degradable after the use. It also leaves less impact on the environment in term of carbon footprint generated during the production stage, and to some extent after the post usage due to its compostability.
Commodity Inside ascertains that packaging accounts for a major share in the bioplastics market. However, other sectors such as automotive, agriculture, textile and healthcare are also showing a substantial increase.
There is a huge potential for growth in bioplastics demand on the back of rising environmental concerns due to pollution produced during the manufacturing of petroleum-based plastics, as well as the rising plastic waste around the world. Bioplastics have not just been assisting in the environmental pollution problems but also lowering dependence on the oil and helping agriculture sector.
One of the key restraints in the market is the price premium over the petrol-based plastics. We assess that bioplastics prices will slightly edge down due to the economies of scale and technological developments going forward. Having said that, prices can also be driven upwards on the back of rising feedstock prices. Research and development investments would also play a key role in determining the direction of the market as it allows the new applications to adopt bioplastics. On the supply side, DUPONT and ADM have recently opened the world’s first bio-based furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) plant with 60 tonnes annually.
This article is based on our recently publish report “The Global Bioplastics Market Outlook 2018-2028”.