Use Of Opp Film In India For Packaging: Globally Opp Is 3 Times Higher Than Pet Film But In India, Its Almost Same

Hello Sid, I can understand the reason ov availablity, ease of handling but what do you mean by the transparent prices? I am not clear on this point.

Dear Mr Goyal. This is Mahesh Gupta ,working in this industry since 1980 ..started from  Garware. i am a consultant now in the Flexible packaging Industry ,Based in singapore. as Per me ,from the begining Garware or we taught all the converters Good thing about the PET and it is more bright and shiny ,Indian people like this Property . PET films were also chepaer in India due to Local production of chips and know from Garware. but I am sure in due course BOPP will take over PET due to its many advantages over PET

Thank you Mr Gupta for sharing your experience. When you say that BOPP would take over PET in due course due to its many advantages, can you please list some of the advantages that you think would make the difference?

Hi everybody, Agreed with Nagender and the concept of machinability issues shared by Sandeep Sir . My feeling about Indian Converting industry is that  there are only few corporate player in the field of flexibles having machineries and manpower who knows the importance of laminate structure for different products..But major part of laminates is prepared by unorganised set of convertors almost 55-60% of total laminates is manufactured by them by very old machineries where temperature control is not good. 1)If the temperatuere increases beyond 75 deg cel. BOPP film tends to shrink by the edges(major issue) but such problems are not associated while using PET. 2)We cannot store BOPP film for a long time because with time the surface energy reduces gradually which hempers the wettability property of adhesives and the outcomes are lowbond strength & delamination issues. Therefore POLYESTER is RAMBANN(Ultimate sol.) in India.

Dear WIN WIN, Not agreed with the statement of yours :Advantages of PET that i notice is in Printing, It (12 micron film) can have more length per roll, so u have less waste due to changing rolls. It is more convenient for the rotogravure operators. When you are compairing PET (12 mic) and BOPP (15 mic) rolls of the same weight and width the length per roll will be higher in BOPP.It is due to the density difference. Density of PET is 1.41 whereas density of BOPP film is 0.9 so it is quite obvious that you will get more length while using BOPP film.  

Hello Everybody, I think the reasons behind the higher usage of BOPP in global market than India are 1)       More usage of BOPP as monolayer structures in global market. As the convertibility of higher micron BOPP are much easier than that of BOPET. Mileage and heal sealing are added advantages. 2)       Versatility of BOPP is the key to its higher consumption. In India BOPP is used many as a commodity film whereas in globally BOPP is used as a specialty film with a whole lot of space for improvements (ultra high barrier with low WVTR and OTR values, Very low & ultra low seal with very high sealing strength, varying densities & forms) . There is a very little space for alteration in properties as per special requirements in case of BOPET.    3)       Converters / end users awareness and government initiative for environmental concerns leads to more and more usage of single web structures and laminates made of single type of material. BOPET lags behind BOPP in this race also as modifications are restricted in BOPET. 4)       Hindrance to change what is running from past (mind setup), lack of technology and technical knowledge at core level are major contributing factors for more usage to BOPET in Indian market over BOPP.  

while we are talking about BOPP in such details, we met a user company yesterday. We discussed with them about various consulting projects and asked them whether they use the BOPP. They said that they do use it but always face problems in printing. They never get consistently good quality of printing and asked us if we could recommend some good converters in India. So do you have any suggestions based on your experience?

Dear Sir, The statement "Never get consistently good quality of printing" while using BOPP is quite unbelievable and surprising. Can you please elaborate the problems faced by the end user while printing on BOPP? Does they face problem of print miss-registration or unable to have good print shade or unable to have a print at all? Also please inform regarding the printing method being adopted etc so as to understand the problem and provide suggestions. Regards, Madhukar.

Madhukar, I do not know their exact problems but we will request them to join the discussions so that better clarity can be achieved for everybody's benefits, thank you, Sandeep Goyal

Those who would like to know more about BOPP, there is an interesrting PowerPoint presentation that can be downlaoded at http://www.packagingconnections.com/p-exchange/everything-about-opp-or-bopp-films-packaging.htm   This is at P-Exchange where you can discuss/reply by adding your technical files, presentations, pictures altogether.

Dear all, For higher BOPP film consumption, what i understand is that the consumption of packaged food is very high in abroad. We can not pack anything like bread or vegetables in PET film where BOPP is in high demand for the application. In our country,we still consuming daily cooked food and our consumption of plastic packaging is less as compared to others. This is the one of the main reason why we are not consuming more BOPP. Secondly,Gutka(Pan masala/tobacco) market where we have to have a laminate which is having good barrier (Oxygen/moisture) ,altogether is PET film. We can not replace Gutka market by BOPP and the consumption % of laminate is very high in this segment. As on date 70% of the population is in rural or semi urban area and they prefer to buy fresh vegetables from near by area.  Whereas in abrod the fruits and vegetables are wrapped with antifog BOPP or whatever plastic pack. This segment is consuming almost nil in India. BOPP is also growing in India, Industries  are increasing their  capacity.Why?, we have the segment like bags,overwrap application where we can not replace BOPP with PET. Like labels , icecram packing,PET film is not developed.This market will grow once, the habit of junk food intake will increase in India. The conclusion is ,we can not compare the BOPP and PET films for common application as the global consumption difference is depending the people habit in India

Thank you for your detailed analysis. I think what you say is partially true but the other big factor is awareness of BOPP in India All big retail stores like Walmart in US have fruits & vegetables in open area, people just pick them, put into a PE bag next to the item, weigh themselves, put a barcode sticker and take to payment area. So this is the big area and no BOPP nor any PET there. Yes, Gutka is big segment in India and I think we can address that by using barrier OPP. I think the bigger issue is the penetration of flexibles in India. We still see the big markets everywhere in the country like Crawford market in Mumbai selling loose lentils, loose spices, loose tea, loose saltry snacks at Iyenger Bakeries in south. If we address those areas then I think we can open another big market

Yes, BOPP can be used for salt packing. For better strength we will have to add LLDPE in sealable PE film.

please add the following in my previous mail. Also, we  need to have better material handling like carton packing.

Dear Friends, I am quite new to this website and found it to be very interesting. I have a query, can CPP be a replacement of PET films. Has anybody tried this, any experience opinions.   thanks, Mustafa K

MUMBAI (ICIS)--Prices of biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) film in India look set to continue rising through to 2011 amid increased demand and tight supply, industry sources said on Monday. The benchmark 12 micron BOPET could hit Rs240-250/kg ($5,407-5,631/tonne) this month from around Rs227/kg in end-September, after nearly doubling its value from the start of the year because of strong demand, they said. Domestic demand was expected to grow nearly 25% annually in the next two years as new uses for BOPET emerge, industry sources said. BOPET is a polyester film with applications in packaged foods, solar power cells, touch-screen panels of mobile phones and flat screen televisions. An increase in the use of the material in non-traditional areas such as garment embroidery, along with exports to the US and Europe - where BOPET production had started to fall - ate into available domestic supply, causing prices to shoot up, industry sources said.  “Production capacities in the matured markets of USA, Europe and Japan are declining and large growth is being witnessed in Asia where capacity increase is continuing,” major Indian producer Jindal Polyfilms said on its website. “Many polyester film producers in the mature markets are shifting towards making specialty products,” said a source at an Indian film producer with operations in India, Middle East and South America. But in Asia, demand for BOPET was growing at a fast pace in the past few months, driven by the region’s stronger economic growth, industry sources said. The region was expected to account for 60% of worldwide BOPET film sales over the next year, according to the website of Jindal Polyfilms. “Rapid economic growth in India and China is creating larger opportunities for the use of flexible packaging film,” said the source. BOPET’s price spike, however, was hurting plastic converters as they had to deal with higher production overhead, industry sources said. “We are suffering,” said a source at a major Indian converter, citing that the price increased had been gradual and reasonable this year until June, when values started their rapid increase. Converters alleged that Indian polyester film producers had formed a cartel of sorts with all the companies quoting similar prices, leaving converters with no options but to buy film at the high rates. The polyester film producers, on the other hand, said that the strong demand dictated the strong prices. “Some converters are increasingly moving towards biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film as it is a cheaper alternative. In some cases, converters are trying to replace metallized polyester film with metallized BOPP or even aluminium foil, which is cheaper,” said the source at the Indian converter. BOPP film prices have remained more or less stable in the past eight to nine months, with the benchmark 18 micron BOPP film, costing around Rs114/kg due to ample supply, market sources said. “In addition to existing BOPP producers, most polyester film producers are also setting up BOPP production facilities, which has led to increased capacity in the market,” said the polyester film producer. However, though BOPP film is cheaper, not all converters have been able to make the shift since machine specifications could not be changed overnight and there were some applications that BOPP could not substitute for BOPET, industry sources said. “If BOPET film prices rise beyond Rs250/kg, it could damage the downstream industry especially the packaging sector,” said the source at an Indian converter, citing that converters may not be able to pass on the higher cost to customers. Some market players, however, said that the spike in BOPET prices may not extend up to two years as others believed.  “There is increased capacity coming into the market. Many of the existing producers are also increasing their capacity, so at most this spike in prices may last for six to seven months more,” the first film producer said. “There is huge capacity coming up in China, which should increase availability [of BOPET] by next year. So hopefully, we will be able to see a drop in prices,” said the converter. ($1 = Rs44.39)

DUBAI (ICIS)--Asian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle-grade chip prices climbed to four-month highs above $1,300/tonne (€936/tonne) and the uptrend is likely to continue amid surging feedstock costs, industry sources said on Wednesday. PET bottle-grade chips are used in plastic bottles for mineral water and other beverages, and are also used as feedstock for polyester fibre production. Demand was just stable, particularly coming from the beverage sector, industry sources said. Last Friday, spot prices of the material were assessed at $1,300-1,310/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea and/or China - the highest level hit since late-May 2010, based on ICIS data. “The PET spot market now is mainly cost-pushed as the raw material costs surge became too fast for PET producers to keep up with,” said a major Korean PET producer. “It looks like the current pricing mechanism no longer takes supply-demand fundamentals into consideration,” said another source from China Resources. “Demand becomes secondary now,” he added. On Monday, the prices of raw material purified terephthalic acid (PTA) prices were at $1,010-1,030/tonne CFR (cost and freight) CMP (China Main Port), representing a month-on-month increase of about 14%, based on ICIS data. Another feedstock - monoethylene glycol (MEG) had a 20% month-on-month jump in values to around $945-960/tonne CFR CMP, according to the same data. “The immediate concern for PET producers will be whether they can pass on the surging feedstocks costs,” said a source at Indorama, a major southeast Asian producer. A regional rader said: “Bottle chip producers remained very passive during this round of price hike, as the key reason for escalating PTA and MEG prices was the brisk demand from key downstream polyester fibre and yarn markets." The bulk of PTA and MEG output in the region goes into textile production. Prices of downstream products were also following the upward trend. In China, polyester filament yarn values increased (CNY) 300-600/tonne right after market players returned from their long holidays on 8 October. Polyester staple fibre prices also shot up, partly bolstered by a shortage of cotton - a key substitute material, market sources said. On the other hand, demand for bottle chips remained relatively stable, with some buyers hesitating to procure material given the sudden jump in spot prices, traders and producers said. “Spot demand from Europe was particularly strong during the past couple of weeks in anticipation of higher PET prices in Europe and [a] stronger euro against US dollar,” said a trader based in northeast Asia. From the appreciation of the euro alone, industry players said they estimated an increment of at least $50/tonne in bid prices. “Raw material prices will remain on an uptrend, judging by the current market fundamentals," said a source at a major Taiwanese PET producer, citing that producers could even resort to cutting back production just to protect their margins. ($1 = €0.72)      

I think this is simple demand and supply. Earlier due to Deepawali, requirements were high and quite possoble that manufactureres would be trying to encash the festival opportunity. Since now there is no immediate high requirement, prices have started coming down but Iguess it would not go too low.

I am agreed with Mr. Goel & others.You know in India 70-80% converters are non technical & having the business policy (printing/lamination,sliting then dispatch the laminate) also not follow the minimum requirement of manufacturing process.The having the policy any how to make cheepar cost laminate with out any tension with the help of non trend opretar & workers. But it a good platform for discussion. Please let me know what is opction for gutka/Pan masala packing bcoz supreem cort object (PET/MET PET/POLY) laminate in very soon. Thanks