Brazil is set to increase its production of plastics in 2014, according to a new analysis by local plastics industry association Abiplast. The forecast predicts a rise in both volume and value, Business News Americas reported.
Abiplast estimated that the country's total output of plastics next year will go up 1.8 percent in terms of volume, following a 1.6-percent increase in 2013. Meanwhile, demand for plastics in Brazil will rise 9 percent in value — an increase that is similar to the one predicted for this year, the website said.
The Brazilian plastics market is expected to become more favorable and profitable to local plastics producers. Over the past few years the increase in demand for plastics has been met by imported products mostly, but Abiplast said that 2014 will see the start of a reversed trend that will ramp up domestic production.
Commenting on the predictions, Abiplast president José Ricardo Roriz Coelho stated that demand for plastics is expected to rise following the recent depreciation of the Brazilian currency, which will affect imports of food products, especially those that are already packaged. Since food packaging accounts for the largest proportion of demand for plastics, the sector will be the main driver of plastics production growth in the country next year.
Roriz added that one of the main challenges for the Brazilian plastics sector was the rise in thermoplastic resin prices. Globally, costs increased by 18 percent between January and September 2013, while Brazilian plastic manufacturers only hiked product end prices by 4.55 percent over the same period.
