PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2012

TRADESHOW PREVIEW 38 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 10/12 www.petpla.net Demand for beverage technology and process and packing technology in India Trade fair pairing in India India is growing to become the second-most important market of the future, after China, for suppliers in the beverage and packaging industry. Many examples demonstrate India’s vast latent potential for any beverage manufacturers who serve the market with modern packag- ing such as PET, and equally so for the producers of packaging and process technology for beverages and foods. At Mumbai, from November 6 to 8, 2012, drink technology India (dti) and International PackTech India will offer a platform to bring together supply and demand for this sector. Retail trade regulation puts the brakes on growth A broad middle class acts as a motor for growth in any economy, According to a study by the McKin- sey Global Institute (MGI), the Indian middle class, which numbered just about 50 million in 2007, will have grown to around 583 million by 2025. The factor that holds back growth the most, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), however, is the strict regulation of retail trade in India. Over 90% of perishable food is sold by local traders, for example from street stalls and little corner shops. Investment in modern super- and hypermarkets would also gener- ate more investment in logistics, CII predicts. This change is bound to take place, and this would then result in a great increase in demand for individ- ual packaging for foodstuffs, bever- ages and commodities. The establish- ment of a better organised structure in the retail trade industry is directly linked to a certain degree of West- ernisation of the lifestyle and culture. The number of shops and supermar- kets is rising, and with it the demand for packaging for the everyday goods they sell. Alcoholic drinks The consumption of beer at pre- sent is less than two litres per head per year. Euromonitor International expects the market in beer to double to a turnover of US$9 bn by 2016 alone. At present (2011) beer output is approximately 15 million hectoli- tres. 56 breweries produce beer under licence from the Indian Government. From 2009 to 2013 market forecasters reckon on an annual average rate of increase of 12%. The licensed liquor outlets and bigger restaurants offer gin, whisky, rum, arrak, wine, sparkling wine or toddy (palm wine). Even in the five- year period 2004 to 2008 sales of spirits rose by over half to 1.2 billion litres. From 2009 to 2013 a further average growth of around 10% per year may be expected – up to just under 2 billion litres of spirits. Soft drinks In 2011 about 1.5 billion litres of carbonated soft drinks were produced. Foreign direct investments in this sector so far amount to over US$1bn , among the biggest foreign commit- ments in India. Soft drinks are pre- dicted to have an annual growth rate of almost 7% by 2013. Sales of bot- tled water are growing twice as fast, and also start at a much higher level, at around 4.5 billion litres in 2011. Graph 1 shows beverage consump- tion for beer and for soft drinks from 2007 to 2011. The beverage packag- ing split shows that PET has the larg- est pecentage share in the soft drinks sector (graph 2) Graph 1: Beverage consumption for beer and for soft drinks from 2007 to 2011 (Volume in million litres). (Source: Canadean)