According to a new study published by Ceresana, low density polyethylene worth almost US$33 billion was sold worldwide in 2013, and global sales are expected to rise by 1.5%/year until 2021.
While LDPE markets in Western Europe and North America are largely saturated and will grow only slightly, Asia-Pacific processed about 7.1 million tonnes of LDPE in 2013. Approximately 58% of this was consumed in China.
Asian countries - China and India in particular - and the Middle East will remain the largest growth markets for LDPE. Due to strong competition by other types of polyethylene, future growth rates for LDPE demand are likely to fall short of overall economic development.
Ceresana says several world regions are rapidly increasing their production capacities for LDPE. Output in the Middle East is projected to rise at a high growth rate of 5% per year, and various productions sites are also to be constructed in North America and Asia-Pacific. Western Europe, on the other hand, will see the closure of LDPE plants.
About 63% of total demand stems from film production, especially packaging films, bags and sacks. In Asia, LDPE packaging films in particular offer the largest growth potential.