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Pharma packaging is one of the fastest growing sectors. Worldwide demand for
packaging equipments for the pharmaceutical and personal care products sector is
all time high, growing at the rate of 5.4 per cent. The sector is forecast to
post the strongest gains of any market through 2008, reaching $4.4 billion in
that year.
Overall, the world packaging machinery market will reach $31bn in 2008. And
the greatest growth in this sector will be triggered by developing countries,
according to a recent report from Freedonia. Improving economic fundamentals
will bolster most packaging machinery consuming sectors in these regions, notes
the report, and as a result manufacturing output will increase, creating
opportunities for packaging machinery suppliers.
The most promising markets are those emerging in Latin America the
Asia/Pacific region, where faster population growth and more rapidly increasing
levels of industrial output will simulate demand for packaging machinery. China
will record some of the strongest increases, with packaging machinery demand
rising by 8 per cent annually through 2008, and India will also post strong
gains, suggests the report.
For pharmaceuticals/personal care, rising standards of living in the
developing world will increase the number of consumers that can afford packaged
products. Meanwhile, in the developed world, the sector will benefit from the
rising average age of the population in places like the US and Japan, which will
spur demand for packaged medicine and personal care products.
Across all industries, the US is the largest producer of packaging machinery,
with 2003 shipments of $4.9bh, followed by Japan with $4.1bn. Other leading
producers include Germany, Italy and China, all with annual shipments in excess
of $1bn. The major net exporters of packaging equipment in 2003 were Germany and
Italy, followed by Sweden and Japan.
Among product groups, labeling and coding machinery remain the fastest
growing segment, driven by the increasing number of labelling regulations in
many parts of the world, as well as shipper's need to track products. Filling
and form/fill/seal equipment will remain the largest product group, due to their
widespread use across a range of industries. New product development activity
will continue in all types of equipment, with packaging machinery manufacturers
continuing to introduce smarter, faster and more flexible units. The report also
forecasts that the machinery market will reach $40.1bn in 2013, with
pharmaceuticals and personal care items accounting for $5.7bn of that total.
The pharma packaging industry in India is considered a sunrise industry with
a great scope for entrepreneurship and marketing. Packaging industry, here, is a
heterogeneous phenomenon which is only partly organized. The concept of
packaging in general came into existence in India during 1950s, which became
noticeable in 1960s, grew in size in 1970s, revolutionized in 1980s, developed
in 1990s.
Currently, the industry is worth about Rs 65,000 crore. It is growing at a
rate of 15 per cent annually, which is just double to the global packaging
industry growth, says BK Karna, deputy director of Indian Institute of Packaging
(IIP), Hydrabad.
Despite this, only a few companies India can afford to use latest technology
machineries in pharma packaging. This is, of course, a discouraging trend
especially at a time of globalization wherein the companies face tough
competition. Pharma packaging companies should be updated with the technological
advances, packaging innovation must be encouraged and initiated, BK Karna
suggests.
(Ref : "Chronicle Pharmabiz" dated May 12, 2005)
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