The low-density polyethylene (LDPE) market, which was worth $33 billion globally in 2013, will continue to grow at 1.5 per cent until 2021, driven by Asian countries and the Middle East, the largest markets for LDPE, a report said.

LDPE is one of the most commonly produced plastics and mainly used for packaging. Asia-Pacific single-handedly processed about 7.1 million tonnes of LDPE in 2013, added the new study by market research institute Ceresana, noting that about 58 per cent of this amount were consumed in China.

Due to strong competition by other types of polyethylene, future growth rates for LDPE demand are likely to fall short of overall economic development. The LDPE markets in Western Europe and North America are largely saturated already and will grow only slightly.

New Large Factories
Several world regions are rapidly increasing their production capacities for LDPE. LDPE output in the Middle East is projected to rise at a high growth rate of 5.0 per cent per year. New large-scale petrochemical complexes will commence production in upcoming years.

These are often joint ventures of large international companies and regional enterprises. Various larger productions sites are to be constructed in North America and Asia-Pacific as well. Western Europe, on the other hand, will see the closure of LDPE plants.

Above All Films
LDPE is most commonly used for the production of films. About 63 per cent of total demand stem from film production, especially packaging films as well as bags and sacks. Other important applications are rigid packaging and construction products, which can profit from new investments in infrastructure around the globe. In Asia, on the other hand, it is especially films, LDPE packaging films in particular, that offer the largest growth potential, since Asian countries are increasingly adapting to Western standards for packaged food.

Extrusion Dominating
In a global comparison, film extrusion is the most common technology for processing LDPE. Other technologies, namely extrusion coating, injection molding, and other processes like blow molding and rotomolding, account for a market share of only 37 per cent. The various world regions show only minor differences in regard to processing technologies.

For example, extrusion coating is disproportionally often used in North America, while Eastern European countries use large amounts of LDPE not only in film extrusion, but also injection molding.- TradeArabia News Service