PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2014

EDITOUR REPORT 11 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 09/14 www.petpla.net 2.8% (or 2.9% harmonised Eurostat value) in 2011. It was noticeably lower in 2013 at 1.2% (or 1.3% harmonised Eurostat value). The crisis also affected the unemployment rate, which currently stands at 12.9%. Numbers at work remain com- paratively low at 55.3% (January 2014) compared to the mean annual rate in 2013 of 55.6%. There also continues to be a marked imbalance between the regions. The effect of (youth) unemployment in the south is significantly more noticeable than in the north. Italy depends significantly on imports for its energy (79%). Approx. 36% of the demand is met by crude oil, 35% by gas, 15% by renewable forms of energy, 9% by solid fuels and 5% by imported electricity. Renewables (solar and wind power) are expected to play an increasing role over the next few years. The reintroduction of nuclear energy was decisively rejected in a referendum held on June 12-13, 2011. PET industry In the context of our Mediterranean market tour, Italy is particularly interesting because here, in a single country, the whole of the PET industry is represented. Thus we visited a broad spectrum of manufacturers and bottlers: raw material manufacturers, machine manu- facturers for preforms and PET bottles (both the 1- and 2-stage process), manufacturers of plastic closure cap machines (injection and compression moulding), manu- facturers of injection/blow and compression moulds, manufacturers of filling machines (rotation and linear), and finally, manufacturers of downstream equipment and peripherals. In the processing sector, we met converters for preforms, PET bottles and closure caps as well as bottlers, but also complete in-house production, from the preform right through to the filled bottle. Despite all this, it is a fact that the economic down- turn has weakened the beverages market, and this pre- sents a stern challenge for producers: how to find a way out of the crisis. High energy and transport costs (the highest in the EU) do not help matters either, as all the businesses we visited were quick to point out. Reduc- ing the cost of energy and raw materials thus becomes a prime concern. Progress is being made as can be seen in preform production. Around 10 billion preforms a year are used in Italy, yet materials usage is falling by between 5 and 8% a year. There is a similar situation in plastic closures. Beverages and drinks packaging market The market for beverages in Italy has been static for years and may even be going slightly backwards. Amongst non-alcoholic beverages, for example, mineral water, with around 11bn litres in 2013, was the dominant force, fol- lowed by CSD, milk and other beverages such as juices and iced tea. Consumption of beverages in 2013 in terms of millions of litres of non-alcoholic drinks (information compiled from the various companies visited) Macro-economic data (Source: Germany Trade & Invest, as at May 2014) Area 30134 km² Population 60 million * Population density 199.1* inhabitants per km² Population growth 0.3% Age structure 0-14 yrs: 13.8% 15-24 yrs.: 9.8% 25-54 yrs.: 43% 55-64 yrs: 21% 65 yrs and older: 20.8% Raw materials Agrarian Fruits, vegetables, potatoes, sugar beet, soya beans, corn, olives, beef, milk products, fish Mineral Coal, mercury, zinc, potassium chloride, marble, baryte, asbestos, pumice, fluorite, pyrite (sulphur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, arable land Gross Domestic Product (GDP, nom. ) Billion € 2013: 1,560.0 2014: 1,592.4* 2015: 1,634.3* Billion US$ 2013: 2,072.0* 2014: 2,171.5* 2015: 2,263.5* GDP per inhabitant (nominal) € 2013: 26.138 2014: 26.456* 2015: 26.968* US $ 2013: 34.715 2014: 36.216* 2015: 37.577* Economic growth Gross Domestic Product (change in % actual) 2012: -2.4% 2013: -1.9% 2014: 0.6%* 2015: 1.2%* *estimated  Mineral water 11,400  CSD 3,800  Milk 1,000  Nectar juice (40 to 100% proportion fruit) 430  Iced tea 420  Still drinks (0 to 40% proportion fruit) 190  Sport/energy-drinks 90  Total 17,330 million litres In the drinks packaging sector PET is the dominant commodity and the trend is upward. Drinks packaging (overall) 2013 in millions of units (Euromonitor International)  PET bottles 10,640  Glass bottles 4,330  Metal beverage cans 1,750  Brick liquid cartons 1,010  Flexible packaging 800  Miscellaneous 1,500  Total 20,000 units