Global demand for food containers to increase 3.8% yearly through 2013

World demand for food containers is forecast to increase 3.8% per year to $115 billion in 2013, according to a report by the Bharat Book Bureau.

Factors contributing to rising demand will include growth in global food output and trends toward convenience-oriented food options as a result of fast-paced lifestyles.

Demographic trends will continue to have significant influence on food container demand.

For instance, the rising percentage of urban population and women in the workforce, coupled with increases in the number of single-person households, will fuel packaged and processed food spending, due to more limited time for meal preparation and convenience benefits.

Products made from biodegradable materials will post robust advances, albeit from a low base, the result of greater pressure on packaging producers to reduce their environmental footprint.

Bags and pouches will remain the largest product type by a wide margin, supported by ongoing developments in high-barrier resins and value-added features such as microwaveable bags and resealable stand-up pouches.

Demand for bags and pouches will benefit from the products' environmentally friendly image, as they are often associated with reduced packaging efforts.

In addition, cost advantages of bags and pouches compared to rigid containers - especially considering their lighter weight (which imparts transportation cost savings), their smaller size (which imparts storage space savings) and their lower energy requirements during production will aid gains.

The fastest gains, however, are anticipated for plastic containers, based on improvements in plastic container performance, as well as their cost advantages over metal and glass containers.

Metal cans will remain an important segment of the food container mix due to the economic advantages of canned items in controlling food expenditures.

While glass has traditionally had an advantage in smaller wide-mouth containers used to package items such as baby food, plastics are making inroads in these areas as well due to barrier property enhancements and improvements in hot-fill bottle construction and capabilities.

Moreover, the heavier weight of glass containers compared to their plastic counterparts will continue to limit applications -- especially in export markets -- as it increases shipping costs.

While the US is by far the world's largest user of food containers, the fastest gains will occur in the world's developing regions.

Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Africa/Mideast region will all outpace the global average.

Population growth and greater urbanization (except in Eastern Europe), industrialization trends, and expanding international trade will support advances in these regions' generally underdeveloped packaging sectors.

Rising consumer income levels and expanding middle classes will also generate robust internal demand for packaged consumer goods like processed foods, boosting food packaging consumption.

Some of the best gains are expected in the BRIC countries, as China is expected to account for more than one-fifth of global value gains in food container demand between 2008 and 2013.