The cost of Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT) has remained steady for three weeks in a row, following a drop in the first week of November. This decline was primarily due to weak demand from the packaging sector in Europe. The market has been expected to see a surge in demand in the next fiscal year since Europe has been strongly participating in maintaining the sustainability of the packaging industry and reducing plastic waste. PBAT producers thus have been expecting a growing demand from the downstream industry in 2024.

The European Parliament has been working actively to remove and modify packaging guidelines, and in that regard, it has been supporting the amendment of the European Commission’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which has been expected to support the upstream PBAT industry in the future. Italy PBAT prices on November 24 have registered a value of USD 1880 per metric tonne, FOB Genoa.

Energy prices have also been expected to increase in upcoming months, which further has been projected to support the production costs of PBAT in the future. OPEC’s continuous production cuts and future escalation concerns of the Israel-Hamas war have been further expected to put buoyant force on the PBAT prices.

Freight rates from the North American East Coast to Europe have jumped by 5%, which will likely support the increase in the import prices of PBAT upstream petrochemicals. Improved investors’ mindsets in the downstream sustainable packaging industry of PBAT are also expected to join the upward force of PBAT prices in the future.

Lóreal, the world’s leading cosmetic manufacturer, has focused more on refillable and recyclable packaging. UNESDA has also joined the effort to reduce plastic waste and invest in recyclable technologies.

German manufacturers have been diverting from single-use packaging production lines to biodegradable packaging material production, such as PBAT. Thus, PBAT prices in Germany on November 24 have been closed at USD 1839 per metric tonne, FOB Hamburg. However, sluggish economic recovery might put downward pressure on initial month prices for the year 2024.

The EU has been introducing rules and guidelines to make its packaging market more sustainable. A recent incident in Belgium regarding water pollution has forced the EU to rethink the use of chemical-coated plastic materials. It must be noted that the EU has also banned some food packaging materials, considering the better health of European citizens. According to several research, recycling returned packaging from consumers could lower Greenhouse Gasee (GHGs) emissions by 35% when compared to the GHGs emissions caused by single-use packaging.