EVENT REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 12/25 www.petpla.net 32 PET Day - Meeting of the PET raw materials industry and consumers Once again, the world of raw material traders and preform manufacturers met near Florence at the invitation of G.S.I. Discussions centred – no wonder – on PET prices, the raw material situation and all the issues surrounding it. Founder and owner of G.S.I. Francesco Zanchi used his figures to show that the overcapacity in virgin PET and its precursors is enormous and that PET consumption is rising steadily, but not fast enough to utilise production capacity in the coming years. China remains the main player in the market. However, he also held politicians accountable. Appreciate plastic – especially PET – for what it is, recyclable and sustainable. In particular, he called on the President of PETCORE EUROPE Antonello Ciotti to take a stronger stance in restoring the credibility of plastics within Europe and to promote this perspective in the EU Parliament. The speakers included: Hemant Sharma, Sector Head of Polyester at Reliance Industries (India). Sharma outlined the impact of tariff wars, geopolitical tensions, and volatile oil prices. He noted that while China is phasing out older chemical assets, the move will not significantly rebalance global supply. He forecast slowing world trade growth in 2026, shrinking margins across the polyester chain, and limited new investments in PX, PTA, yarns, and PSF, with only some new PET capacity coming online. Turning to rPET, Sharma pointed out that by 2030 the market will require around 13 million tonnes, while current availability is only half of that. To bridge this gap, he estimated an investment need of USD 6-8 billion over the next five years, alongside a dramatic improvement in collection rates, since today only 1% of textiles are recycled. Francesco Zanchi delivered his talk on “Future of PET or PET Futures.” He underlined China’s continuing central role in pricing, supported by its large PTA and PET capacities and higher expected utilisation rates by 2026. In Europe, virgin PET demand is shrinking, partly due to the slower-thanexpected adoption of rPET, hindered by high bale prices and the lack of EU recognition for chemical recycling. Zanchi predicted firm freight costs and increasing pressure on PET and PTA prices, compounded by possible anti-dumping duties on imports from Vietnam. As a strategy to mitigate volatility, he urged European operators to consider fixing the CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) rate for raw materials for an entire year, a solution made possible through the collaboration between GSI and Del Corona & Scardigli. Other speakers were Paul Hodges, Consultant on general constraints; Luigi Del Corona, from Del Corona & Scardigli on the challenges of transport and Chiara Zanchi, President of the Saint Lawrence Foundation, shared an update on the foundation’s projects in Makeni, Sierra Leone. In the afternoon, Antonello Ciotti of PETCORE EUROPE; Chris DeArmitt of Phantom Plastics and Francesco Zanchi discussed materials and recycling. The second round table brought together Thomas Struppert (Pet Verpackungen, Germany), Paolo Cescutti (AMB, Italy), and Duncan Oakes (Esterform, UK). The speakers unanimously pointed to the challenges of managing recycled materials - particularly their high prices - while also facing persistent misconceptions and anti-plastic narratives. The final round table focused on bottlers, with contributions from Maha Rais (Sotherma, Morocco), Antonio Barone (Ferrarelle, Italy), and Claudio Ciavattini (Refresco, international). Another issue here is the high rPET price from the bottlers’ point of view. www.gsiplastic.com Hemant Sharma, Sector Head of Polyester at Reliance Industries as a speaker at the PET days, hosted in the historic Villa of Artimino, with its 16th-century frescoed halls
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