Building Equipment & Products - Plastics

Plastics Industry Flexible Enough

to Meet Growing Consumer Demands

May 2017

Building Equipment & Products - Plastics

Plastics Industry Flexible Enough

to Meet Growing Consumer Demands

May 2017
The GCC, particularly Saudi, is set to commission three global scale thermoplastic elastomer plants, according to Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and their April 2017 event Plasticon. Global markets in automotive, construction and packaging are growing strongly, but the GCC offers good potential for growth as well. The GCC plastics sector is to hit 34.5 million Tons (mts) by 2022 while growing at a CAGR of 3 percent, according to the 'GCC Plastic Industry Indicators 2016' report released at the 8th edition of GPCA. According to the report, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman will drive future plastic capacity growth.

In 2016, GCC plastics producers' sales represented 4 percent of the global industry sales revenue, reaching USD33 bn. The industry's capacity expanded in 2016 by as much as 5 percent, reaching 27.1 mts. In previous years, Saudi Arabia alone accounted for 2 percent of global polymer sales, and ranked as the eighth largest plastics producer globally.

1: Saudi Arabia was the largest polymers consumer in the GCC, followed by the UAE which accounted for 19 percent.

Synthetic rubbers will witness the biggest number of products introduced in the coming years, benefitting from expected growth in the transport and automotive sectors. GCC engineering and specialty polymers output grew by 15 percent in 2016, reaching 2.5 mts. GCC polymer consumption increased by 4 percent in 2016, reaching 5 mts. Saudi Arabia was the largest polymers consumer in the GCC, followed by the UAE which accounted for 19 percent.

2: The global market for plastic bags and sacks is forecast to expand at a CAGR of over 3.4 percent from 2016 to 2024

Industrial packaging is the fastest growing end user market for polymers in the region. Consumer packaging accounts for 44 percent, followed by the construction industry at more than a fifth. Plastic consumption in the GCC is increasing rapidly and reached 94 kg per capita in 2016.

Plastics consumption in Qatar is the fastest growing in the region, expanding at 14 percent between 2006 and 2016; however has the lowest consumption ratio to total polymer output at just over 11 percent. In 2016, Oman enjoyed the highest ratio of polymer consumption to output in the region (48 percent). In Oman, Orpic I building is a new ethylene cracker that will enable polyethylene production for the first time in the country.