Plastic consumption in Asia increases thanks to the Internet

Pre-wrapped items in nylon and plastic are then placed in bags to be shipped to consumers when shopping online.

Asia accounts for half of global polyethylene consumption, mainly due to the use of plastic and nylon bags and containers. Photo: AFP

Asia's love of online shopping and the region's steady economic growth will boost demand for plastics in the next two years, Reuters reported.

According to forecasts by business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, Asia's e-commerce market could expand by 30%, reaching an annual average of 960 billion USD (in 2017 and 2018).

This figure is currently 730 billion USD a year (2015 and 2016). This increases the demand for polyethylene, the main plastic used to produce nylon bags, films and foam packaging (bubbles). Asia's polyethylene consumption is estimated to reach 41 million tons in 2017, up 5.1% from 2016.

This would pose a challenge to the petrochemical industry, while also undermining the effectiveness of greening efforts, which have increasingly called for bans on plastic packaging.

"Products are manufactured in pre-packaged packaging, but when sold online, they are re-packaged and shipped to the buyer. The increase in secondary packaging is reviving the demand for plastics that has been reduced by green campaigns such as banning plastic bags and reducing the use of polyethylene packaging," said JP Nah, director of polyolefin shrink film at chemical company IHS Markit.

Internet shopping in Asia in general and China in particular is growing despite slowing economic growth. In China, e-commerce giant Alibaba had a 59% increase in sales in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, the highest since its IPO in 2014.

However, e-commerce is only part of the polyethylene consumption equation. Sustained economic growth in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines has also contributed to the increase in daily consumption of plastic products in grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.

Nikhil Vallabhan, senior consultant at Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, said that polyethylene consumption in Asia in 2016 was about 45-46 million tons, accounting for half of the total global consumption. Of which, ASEAN countries accounted for 20% of polyethylene demand and India accounted for 10%.

According to VNE