MENA Thermoform Plastic Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The MENA thermoform plastic packaging market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2 % over the forecast period 2021 to 2026. The growth of the industry can be attributed to increased demand in the food and beverage, electronic devices, and pharmaceutical industries owing to the relatively low-cost production, high customization, and quick development of prototypes.

Key Highlights

• Saudi Arabia is one of the largest and most attractive foods and beverage markets in the Middle East. The growth in this region is being driven by several factors, such as expanding population and the increase in Hajj and Umrah visitors. Moreover, there is a 10% increase in food imports that is expected to reach USD 35 billion by 2020 due to the prospect of significant import-substitution opportunities to serve the untapped demand for a local dairy, meat and fruit products. This is expected to drive the thermoform plastic packaging market in the food and beverage industry of Saudi Arabia.
• Key electronic players are planning to expand their business in the Middle East to tap the growing demand for consumer electronics due to an increase in consumers' purchasing power. For instance, Samsung, South Korean tech giant aims to expand production lines in Egypt for home appliances and mobile phones. Moreover, LG Electronics has also shown interest in investing USD 15 million in Egypt in 2020 to scale its current production facilities and has exported USD 200 million worth product in 2018, which accounts for 75% of the company’s production. Together, LG Electronics and Samsung invested USD 560 million that promise to drive the market in the consumer electronic segment.
• Further, changes in lifestyle and improvement in living standards, and an increase in consumer preference toward packaged and fresh food, is expected to boost the demand for thermoform packaging during the forecast period.

Key Market Trends

Food and Beverage Sector Will Experience Significant Growth

• Food consumption in the United Arab Emirates is growing due to the influx of tourists, and growth in the overall population. Food consumption in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a whole is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% or 48.1 million metric tons in 2016 to 59.2 million metric tons in 2021. Additionally, rising income has led to changing and increasingly globalized diets, as well as sedentary lifestyles that have resulted in a rise in the consumption of processed food and, are driving the growth of the thermoform packaging market.
• The United Arab Emirates has a favorable environment for the food & beverage business according to the BMI Risk/Reward Index. It has the first rank in the region and fourth globally in food and beverage investment environment attractiveness. According to the report, the import net of re-exports was around AED 43 billion, with a domestic consumption size of AED 112 billion. 62% of the domestic food and beverage needs are derived from the local manufacturing industry that accounts for AED 69 billion. And so, the food and beverage sector is by far one of the most important manufacturing sectors and many companies have expanded and developed over the years.
• Urbanization increased employment opportunity, and affordability in Nigeria has increased the demand for fast-food restaurants and processed food. People are switching from unpackaged, unbranded products to packaged products as the urban population reaches 51%. Consumers are purchasing packaged food products that are quick to prepare or ready to consume and propelling the growth of the thermoform plastic packaging market.

Pharmaceutical Industry is Expected to Hold Significant Market

• The pharmaceutical sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has experienced remarkable growth over the past years and is estimated to reach around USD 60 billion by 2025, with USD 1.2 billion allocated for the healthcare system in the budget 2019. A rapid increase in population (aging), affordable access to the health care system, increased demand for over the counter drugs, and other general health and hygiene consumables has attracted the attention of multinational pharma companies to augment the investment in MENA countries.
• For instance, Emerson has invested USD 25 million and build a new technology and innovation center in Saudi Arabia to support the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. It is the leading automation partner of pharmaceutical manufacturers globally to support their facilities to achieve top performance by world-class technology solutions.
• However, government policy is also encouraging local manufacturing of drugs in African countries as imports currently outweigh exports, and local manufacturing only covers basic medicines. However, the rise of non-communicable diseases and healthcare costs are likely to attract foreign investment as well as the further development of domestic manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey, the vibrant domestic pharmaceutical market represents burgeoning local pharma production due to the protectionist regime that helps local players to flourish. It is expected to boost the growth of the pharmaceutical market and, in turn, thermoform plastic packaging in the healthcare sector.
• COVID-19 has indirectly hampered the growth of the thermoform packaging market in most of the sectors but has fueled in the healthcare sector as most of the pharmaceutical companies are developing a vaccine and testing kits which use thermoform packaging to be lightweight, resistant and cost-effective. For instance, Scientists in Qatar are teaming up across institutions to tackle the pandemic on different levels, such as studying virus-host genomic interactions, creating patient biorepositories, setting up clinical trials, and connecting with global consortia that are expected to fuel the development of COVID-19 vaccine.

Competitive Landscape

The MENA thermoform plastic packaging market is fragmented and is dominated by a few major players like lnterplast (Harwal Group of Companies)​, Precision Plastic Products Co. (L.L.C.)​, Cristal Plastic Industrial LLC​, Nuplas Industries​ and Arabian Plastics Industrial Company Limited (APICO)​. These major players, with a prominent share in the market, are focusing on expanding their customer base across foreign countries. These companies are leveraging strategic collaborative initiatives to increase their market share and increase their profitability. However, with technological advancements and product innovations, mid-size to smaller companies are growing their market presence by securing new contracts and by tapping new markets.

• April 2020 - Thermoform Engineered Quality LLC, continues to deliver a range of medical packaging solutions for customers working to address critical health needs related to COVID-19. Its packaging range includes procedure sets, trays, tubs, lids, and sterile barrier blisters and seal blisters. The company also manufactures custom thermoformed handling trays, including dry powder inhalers, auto-injectors, injection-molded components, pre-filled syringes, and pharmaceutical bottles that are produced in its cleanrooms based in both the United Kingdom and Poland.
• January 2020 - Sonoco Healthcare Packaging group, global packaging company, has completed the acquisition of Thermoform Engineered Quality LLC and Plastique Holdings Ltd., a global manufacturer of thermoformed packaging serving the medical device and consumer markets. Sonoco acquired TEQ from ESCO Technologies Inc. for USD 187 million.

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