Asia, US boost global plastic output

Despite widespread alarm on the environmental cost, Asia and the United States lifted world production of plastic last year while Europe saw a dip, the PlasticsEurope federation said Tuesday.

Voicing concern over US imports, the federation noted global output rose by 3.2 per cent last year to 359 million tonnes (Mt), on the heels of a 3.9 per cent increase a year earlier.

Asia represented more than half of global production, with China alone churning out 108 Mt as it continues to boost capacity, in particular via coal conversion.

Asia as a whole nonetheless has a "structural deficit and is an importer" of plastics, Eric Quenet, PlasticsEurope's regional director for Western Europe, told a new conference.

The United States is also producing more as a result of shale gas development.

The US has developed ethanol-based production units that provide a competitive advantage over European counterparts, the federation said.

Given a worsening trade environment with China, US production is more present in European markets, Quenet observed, with US imports soaring by one-quarter last year.

"What we recorded in 2018 is continuing ... as a consequence of the worsening of Sino-US trade links," Quenet added.

"Our European market remains relatively open with customs duties still fairly moderate," he said.

European production fell back last year by 4.3 per cent while consumption crept up 0.4 per cent.