Global demand for polyethylene for the film and sheet segments is forecast to grow by an average of 5%/year over the next five years, while polypropylene for film and sheet is expected to grow by 5.5%/year over the same period, an analyst with polyolefin-focused Beroe Consulting said Thursday.
The global demand for PE is estimated at 84 million mt in 2015. Of this total volume, film and sheet applications represent more than half of the market segment (51%), followed by injection molding (13%), blow moulding (12%), pipes (7%), and other applications (17%), Malligeswari Panneerselvam said at the Polyolefin Outlook 2016 conference in Bali.
Global demand for PP is estimated at 59 million mt in 2015, with injection molding representing a third of the market by volume (34%), followed by film and sheet segment (24%), raffia (18%), fiber (14%), pipes (3%) and others (7%), she said.
PE and PP films and sheets are used primarily in the flexible packaging market, whose global market value is estimated to be about $85 billion in 2015, said Panneerselvam.
