India BOPP Films Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Indian BOPP films market is expected to witness a CAGR of 5% during the forecast period (2021-2026). The market trend is predicted to gain traction in the anticipated years due to the fact that BOPP films are more flexible and enable faster packaging with advanced sealing properties, compared to other packaging materials. This has pushed manufacturers to come up with new techniques pertaining to the manufacturing of BOPP films to serve the demand of various industries.

Key Highlights

• BOPP films offer excellent moisture barrier, and the metalized variant provides a better oxygen barrier. These properties of BOPP films play a crucial role in food packaging to extend the shelf life of products, thereby reducing food waste. Apart from the barrier properties, BOPP films provide consistent seal integrity because of narrow gauge spread. Good heat seal strength, broad sealing window lower seal initiation temperature, and good machinability further enhance their utility in the food packaging industry for protecting food quality.
• One of the primary factors that will lead to the growth of BOPP films use is their relatively low carbon footprint compared to other plastic films. Because of its low melting point, BOPP films require lower energy to get converted from one form to another. Further, BOPP film is part of the wider polyolefin chemical family, which means it can be laminated with polyethylene film and still widely accepted in the recycling waste stream. In many applications, the consumption of BOPP film has benefitted from the sustainability drive at the expense of other polymers.
• With the recent outbreak of COVID-19, the pouch packaging manufacturers are facing supply chain disruption along with decreasing manufacturing at the site in many parts of the world. To ensure the smooth flow of supply chain, much Global food safety initiative (GFSI) certification programs are providing six-month certificate extensions by conducting a remote audit and risk assessment pertaining to COVID-19 such that the company can approve a new supplier location without an on-site audit to meet the demand.
• Moreover, the outbreak will see the spur of flexible packaging uses across the country. India has very low consumption per capita of flexible packaging for fresh and processed meat and seafood, compared to Japan, the United States, and Western Europe. But, the usage has been increased due to several advantages offered by flexible packaging solutions, such as live on-site butchering, including improved sterilization, tracing and recall, and extended shelf life.

Key Market Trends

Growing Demand for Packaged Food to Drive the Market Growth

• The packaged food or ready to eat food is one of the fastest-growing segments, especially in urban centers. The fast-paced life in urban cities and the steep rise in income and the standard of living is leading to the increasing use of packaged food.
• According to the IBEF, the Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth-largest, with retail contributing 70% of the sales. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32% of the country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India, and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export, and expected growth. Also, according to the data provided by the Department of Industrial Policies and Promotion (DIPP), the food processing sector in India received around USD 7.54 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) during April 2000-March 2019
• Moreover, companies are investing in the Indian food market. For instance, Cargill Inc., a US-based food company, aims to double its branded consumer business in India by the end of 2020, by doubling its retail reach to about 800,000 outlets and increasing market share to become a national leader in the sunflower oil category, which will help the company be among the top three leading brands in India.

Industrial Application of BOPP to Grow Significantly

• BOPP film is part of the wider polyolefin chemical family, which means it can be laminated with polyethylene film, and still be widely accepted in the recycling waste stream. In many applications, the consumption of BOPP film has benefitted from the sustainability drive at the expense of other polymers. Also, when organoclay and nanocomposite materials are blended with BOPP, their barrier properties are enhanced. PVA (Poly(vinyl alcohol)) and MA (Maleic Anhydride) are the most suitable materials for minimizing the oxygen permeability of the films.
• Due to the high growth rate in the Indian economy, the BOPP market in the country is witnessing a high growth rate because of the surging development of the pharmaceutical, retail, cosmetic industry apart from the food and beverage industry. The e-commerce sector has one of the largest applications of BOPP self-adhesive tapes in the country, as it offers superior mechanical and optical features.
• In India, owing to the low cost of production, the players are expanding their production capacities to meet the increasing demand for BOPP. For instance, Cosmo films has announced to increase its production capacity of BOPP to 0.035 million megatons, which is expected to be commercialized by the end of 2020. Similarly, Jindal Polyfilms will increase its production capacity to 0.044 million megatons.

Competitive Landscape

The Indian BOPP films market is moving towards the fragmented market, and its competitive rivalry is increasing because of the increasing presence of many players running their business in national and international boundaries, as the market is changing in the direction of substituting the materials, such as cellophane, waxing paper, and aluminum foils, by means of BOPP films because it functions exceptional closing.

• October 2019 - Nahar Polyfilms announced the expansion plan of the BOPP film plant with a capacity of 30 M.T with an investment of over INR 264 crores, which reportedly will be funded through internal accruals and Term Loan from banks. With this expansion, the total capacity of this facility will reach 60,000 M.T.
• October 2019 - UFlex Limited launched a cutting-edge packaging solution called ‘Asepto Eye’ for the beverages segment. This is a ripple concave lens and single-lens technology that gives 3D effects on the aseptic packs.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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