The plastic packaging industry is facing the multiple challenges of rising raw material prices, supply constraints and liquidity problems, the German Plastic Packaging Association IK and French Plastics Packaging Association ELIPSO said in a joint statement.
“Over the past year, the prices of all plastics have been strongly and steadily increasing,” it said. “Supply has been very tense in 2010, with a lot of declarations of ‘force majeure’ from the suppliers. From 2011, less cases of shortage have been declared, but the frequent postponing of deliveries has led to higher costs at converters and has been very difficult to manage.”
The associations said that since the end of quarterly contracts for ethylene and propylene in January 2009, “the prices of polymers are changing almost every month instead of being fixed for at least a quarter”. They said this was a serious problem, because raw material prices accounted for up to 80% of the industry’s costs.
The statement said the industry had to urgently find new solutions to these challenges, adding that the problem should also be shared. “The market should be brought to greater awareness that the risk concerning the costs for raw material is not to be borne by the packaging producers only,” they added.