According to a recent report, the global Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) market is projected to register a CAGR of over 6 per cent between 2021 and 2026, helping to drive the food packaging industry.
The Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Market – Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 – 2026) report showed that the paper manufacturing sector was negatively affected by the pandemic. However, the usage of packaging in the food industry significantly increased, which has stimulated the demand for the PVA market.
PVA is used in cobinder, optical brightener and clear sizing at the press in the paper manufacturing process. Paper packaging currently accounts for 40 per cent of the packaging materials used in China.
Considering the increasing awareness of environmental protection and usage of recyclable paper packaging, the growing food packaging industry is therefore expected to drive the market’s growth. This in turn will account for rising demand for PVA.
The Chinese food packaging industry is particularly expected to undergo significant growth, owing to rising consciousness of health and wellness, an expanding middle-class population and increased purchasing power from consumers.
In the food packaging industry, PVA is used as a binding and coating agent. As a film coating agent, it is used in applications where moisture barrier or protection properties are needed. In this way, PVA protects the active food ingredients from moisture, oxygen and other environmental elements while also masking taste and odour and allows easy handling.
Trends contributing to the growth of the food packaging market include:
- Emerging new demographic conditions
- New customer demands
- Growing purchasing powers in emerging markets
- Increased emphasis on sustainable, easy-to-use packaging
- Out-of-home consumption.
Valued at US$305 billion in 2019, the global food packaging market is estimated to reach US$406B by 2024 with a CAGR of 5.8 per cent. With the Asia-Pacific region anticipated to be the fastest growing market, emerging economies like Africa are still expected to register significant growth throughout the forecast period.