FLEXIBLE PACKAGING IN CHINA

When it comes to flexible packaging, China already holds large market shares around the world. And it looks as if this is not going to change any time soon: China’s annual average growth until 2022 is estimated to be eight percent, whilst global annual average growth is estimated to be 4.3 percent. One of the main drivers for this market is the growth of the food and beverage industry in China – here, the share lies at 59 percent.

The consumption of food packaging is expected to increase from 399,858 million packaging items in 2018 to 447,066 million in 2023, according to Euromonitor/VDMA. Plastic packaging makes up the largest share, followed by paper, metal and glass.

The increasing demand for food and beverages in urban areas is contributing to higher than average growth in China’s packaging industry. Photo: Phuong Tran / Unsplash

According to VDMA, China is the second largest sales market for German packaging machines behind the USA. In 2018, the land of dragons imported equipment “made in Germany” worth 366 million euros; 15 percent more than the previous year. This is followed by Italian packaging machines (156 million euros) and Japanese machines with 140 million euros.

Besides importing packaging machines with a total value of 1,073 million euros, China also exported machines worth 1,204 million euros in 2018. The top sales markets for Chinese machine exports are the USA (122 million euros), Vietnam (78 million euros) and India (68 million euros).