The French plastics packaging and film industries trade association CSEMP has announced an increase of 2.4% in sales in 2006 to €5.375bn and slightly greater volume growth at 2.6% to 2.047m tonnes in 2006.

But despite overall growth, with food packaging growing by 4.9% and cosmetics and perfume packaging even more strongly at 11%, plastic film continued its path of decline with a 4.5% drop on account of poor sales in both retail shopping bags and expanded polystyrene.

CSEMP is concerned about declining profit margins among its members in general, with producers having difficulty to pass on raw material, energy and transport cost increases. The association considers the situation as sufficiently severe to rate it as “jeopardising our industry’s future”.

CSEMP chairwoman Alix Hubin said the industry is making efforts to redress the situation in striving for faster response time and development of innovative technologies, sustainable development and consolidation among the small and medium sized companies across Europe.

Bioplastics are playing an increasingly important role, such as at the Guillin and Barbier groups, but CSEMP warns that margins have to improve to enable both large and smaller companies to adapt by continuing investment in a number of innovative technologies.

Source