The French Packaging Observatory in conjunction with leading trade associations released results of a snapshot survey of the industry on the eve of the packaging trade show Emballage 2008.
The survey, conducted in late August, asked buyers, mainly from the food and cosmetics industries, and packaging manufacturers themselves to explain their expectations for the coming years.
Steady investment plans and growth predictions
On the financial side manufacturers and buyers appeared unmoved by the deteriorating economic situation with both parties confident about their export growth prospects. Around half predicted increased export sales.
Investment forecasts also remain largely unaffected as more than half of the packaging manufacturers questioned said they expect investment levels to remain steady between 2009 and 2011.
Sustainable plans for packaging
One area from which significant investment and growth is likely to spring is bio-plastics. Almost two-thirds of buyers and packaging manufactures said sustainability and eco-design were now key factors in innovation.
More concretely, 57.5 per cent of buyers said they intend to buy packaging made with biomaterials in the medium term.
Ranking the prospects of different industries
Buyers and manufacturers were also asked to assess the growth prospects of the various industries that packaging manufacturers serve.
Food leapt up in the rankings from third to first place in buyer’s medium term production prospects although manufacturers were less confident.
Francoise Gerardi, the director general of ELIPSO, the plastic and flexible packaging manufacturers’ association, said: “In the food industry, demand in on the whole decreasing.
“The development of the production and consumption of pharmaceutical products, and to a lesser extent of cosmetic products, offers significant market prospects.”