The expansion of the food and beverage industry is one of the major factors pushing up the requirement for extrusion coatings across the world. Due to the surging population of geriatric people, the increasing disposable income of people, and the rising public awareness about health and fitness, the demand for sugar-free, low-calorie, lactose-free, and gluten-free food items is rising sharply. This is boosting the requirement for extrusion coatings across the globe.
This is because these coatings play an important role in various packaging applications in the food and beverage industry. Basically, these coatings protect the food products from various environmental factors and also improve the aesthetics of the packaged food items. The sales of extrusion coatings are exploding in the developing countries of Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America, on account of the expansion of the electronics, consumer goods, healthcare, and food and beverage industries in these regions.
According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the healthcare industry in India was valued at $110 billion in 2016 and this valuation is predicted to grow to $280 billion by 2020, because of the rising demand for medical services and products in the country. This will create a sharp surge in the sales of extrusion coatings in the country in the forthcoming years. Due to these factors, the global extrusion coatings market is set for lucrative growth in the future.
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), and polypropylene (PP) are the major types of materials used in extrusion coatings. Out of these, the demand for the LDPE materials was found to be the highest during the past few years. This was because these materials were extensively used in snack food lamination, sealant layers, folding cup/carton stocks, and liquid packaging, on account of their ability to withstand temperatures as high as 80 degree Celsius for a long period of time.
The biggest application areas of extrusion coatings are liquid packaging, flexible packaging, photographic, and commercial sectors. Amongst these, the usage of extrusion coatings was observed to be the highest in liquid packaging applications during the last few years. This was because of the large-scale usage of extrusion coatings in liquid packaging for increasing the saleability of various types of semi-solid food items and liquid products such as sauces, juices, and milk.
Geographically, the sales of extrusion coatings will boom in the European and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions in the upcoming years, as per the estimates of P&S Intelligence, a market research company based in India. This will be due to the soaring utilization of paper-based containers and liquid cartons in the food and beverage industry. The increasing disposable income of people and the rapid price deflation are also contributing toward the booming sales of extrusion coatings in these regions.
Hence, it can be said with full confidence that the demand for extrusion coatings will soar all over the world in the upcoming years, primarily because of the expansion of the food and beverage industry and the rising requirement for these materials in this industry.