Four of the largest national organisations representing the plastics packaging industry in Europe have called on polymer producers to invest more in European polymer production facilities.
Food Packaging
Elipso from France, IK in Germany and the BPF and PAFA in the UK have made their request to the industry clear in light of a worsening supply situation.
The coalition of organisations has identified that allocated supplies for polyethylene and polypropylene face increasingly frequent disruption in supplies, while ethylene price hikes are driving up the price of many polymers and optimism regarding a return to normal supply conditions is not as strong as desired.
"An urgent restoration of normal supply is imperative," the four organisations stated, due to the fact the industry's credibility with customers is in peril if conditions along the supply chain do not improve.
The four organisations stated that unless security of supply for raw materials can be assured, a truly sustainable plastics packaging industry cannot be attained. Packaging has historically accounted for more than one-third of Europe's polymer consumption and therefore a continued lack of improvement could affect the European plastics market significantly.
It is understood that polymer producers are increasingly likely to invest in the faster growing markets of Asia and the Americas, the coalition revealed. Consequently there is unlikely to be significant investment forthcoming to support the European marketplace. Ageing plants are more prone to breakdown and likely to suffer from the maintenance issues frequently cited as a cause of 'forces majeures'. Only new investment will correct this situation, the four organisations stated.
Europe is a global leader and powerhouse of innovation, according to the group, not only in plastics packaging technology but also in waste management organisation and techniques such as recycling and the incorporation of recyclate into plastics packaging products. The development of this expertise in Europe can, they believe, support the stronger evolution of plastics packaging markets and indeed the acceptance of plastics packaging around the world.
"For this we need polymer producers to invest in the production of their raw materials here in Europe," they stated.
The four organisations paid tribute to plastics packaging converters who have been skilfully managing this situation of interrupted supply and higher prices in the last months. This has been a high wire balancing act amid conditions not witnessed for many years, they said.
