Beverage plastic closure sales grow despite economic downturn

Global demand for plastic beverage closures slowed during 2009 as recession bit hard in the more developed economies, but the sector is still on track to post year-on-year growth of more than 2 percent. And plastics closures are growing at above the average for the sector, according to Dominic Cakebread, director of packaging services at UK-headquartered analysis group Canadean.

Cakebread told delegates at The European Plastics News Plastics Caps & Closures conference in Brussels in November that total global beverage closure demand is likely to amount to 1.01 trillion units for 2009, up by 2.1 percent on the 2008 level of 990 billion units, but falling considerably short of the average 4.1 percent annual growth rates seen over the five years up to 2008.

"Overall growth in the beverage plastic closure market is expected to fall slightly over the next five years to 3.3 percent per annum," he said. "The sharp fall in growth that was expected in 2009 has materialized but many markets are picking up speed again."

The Asia region, which Cakebread predicted is likely to account for 33 percent of total beverage closure demand for 2009, is leading this growth and was up by 7.7 percent year-on-year.

Canadean's data shows Western Europe and North America both saw market demand fall, by 0.6 percent and 1.4 percent respectively. And the traditionally fast-growing eastern European region saw closure demand turn from an average of 6.4 percent growth over the five years to 2008 to a decline of 2.5 percent in 2009.

"That was not expected," said Cakebread. "There was a big hit in Russia this year."