Current situation and trend of China's plastic film industry

The output of plastic film in my country accounts for about 20% of the total output of plastic products, and it is one of the categories with the fastest output growth among plastic products. As the demand for plastic film in my country's packaging, agriculture and other fields continues to increase, it is expected that the demand for plastic film in my country will grow at a rate of more than 9% per year, and its market prospects are very broad.
From the application field of plastic film (thickness of 0.06mm~0.26mm) in China, the packaging industry has the largest consumption, the most varieties and the widest application, accounting for about 2/3 of its consumption, followed by agriculture, accounting for about 30%, and then functional films, such as microporous films, shielding films, geomembranes, etc. In theory, almost all synthetic resins can form films, but the resins with economic significance, becoming commodities and the largest consumption are polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), ethylene/vinyl acetate (EVA), polyamide (PA) and other resins. If suitable plastic additives are added to the resin matrix, various functional films required can be prepared. The production methods of plastic film industry include extrusion and calendering. Extrusion is divided into extrusion blown film, extrusion cast film, extrusion stretching (also known as secondary molding), etc. At present, extrusion is the most widely used, especially for the processing of polyolefin films, while calendering is mainly used for the production of some polyvinyl chloride films.
Overview and development trend of plastic packaging film industry
I. Industry overview
Among plastic packaging materials, the market demand for film materials has the largest increase, accounting for about 46% of the total plastic packaging materials. Plastic packaging films mainly include: heat shrink packaging film, winding packaging film, food aseptic packaging film, fruit and vegetable cling film, liquid packaging film, etc. With the continuous improvement of the equipment level of my country's plastic film industry, some have reached the advanced level of developed countries, and a number of new products have emerged. For example, as a composite packaging substrate, biaxially oriented film has not only overcome the long-term import situation, but also now exports about 300,000 tons each year, earning more than 3 billion US dollars in foreign exchange. The number of large-scale packaging film manufacturing enterprises in my country has developed rapidly, and has reached 2,240 so far. Among them, a number of industry leaders have emerged, such as Jiangyin Shenda Group, Zhejiang Dadongnan Plastic Group, Foshan Dongfang Packaging Materials Company, Foshan DuPont Hongji Packaging Materials Company, Foshan Plastic Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Hongshun Plastic Industry Co., Ltd. and Nanya Plastic Industry (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. They play a pivotal role in the industry.
1. Heat shrink packaging film
At present, in my country, PVC heat shrink film is gradually decreasing, while PE, PP, PET, PVDC, PA and other heat shrink films are developing rapidly, and multi-layer co-extruded composite heat shrink films have emerged. Take the most commonly used three-layer co-extruded heat shrink film as an example. This film is a three-layer composite heat shrink film with linear low-density polyethylene as the middle layer and co-extruded polypropylene as the inner and outer layers. Because it has the advantages of both PE and PP, its performance is better than that of single-layer PE film and PP film. At present, there are nearly 20 enterprises in the industry that produce heat shrinkable films, and their production capacity has grown from 40,000 tons to nearly 80,000 tons. Among them, Baoshuo Group, Tianjin Shengda, Fuzhou Jiatong, and Jiangsu Nantong are backbone enterprises. Single-layer heat shrinkable packaging film can be widely used in fast food noodles, ceramic products, tea sets, mechanical parts, military machinery, hardware tools, construction and transportation materials bundling packaging. Multi-layer heat shrinkable film is mainly used for food packaging such as fresh meat, as well as daily necessities, medical and health products, cultural supplies and other packaging. It is predicted that the market demand for heat shrinkable packaging film in my country will increase by 20% in the next five years.
2. Wrapping packaging film
Wrapping packaging film is self-adhesive and does not require heat treatment during the packaging process, which saves energy and reduces packaging costs. At the same time, it can wrap the goods tightly as a whole, which is convenient for loading and unloading and saves transportation costs. Wrapping film generally uses linear low-density polyethylene LLDPE as raw material. Domestically, ethylene/butene copolymer with a melt index of 1-2 and a density of 0.98g/cm3 is used. It is produced on a single-layer or three-layer co-extrusion device by blow molding or cast film. The key to making the wrapping film self-adhesive is to add chemical additives, such as compatibilizers, adhesion promoters, etc., to two or more mutually compatible, partially compatible or incompatible resins, and then chemically compound or directly inject PIB and other viscous resins. In addition to its packaging function, wrapping film also has some special functions. For example, the grass wrapping film used for grass silage can maintain the moisture and nutrients of the grass, which is conducive to the absorption of nutrients by livestock, thereby promoting the development of animal husbandry. The research and development of grass wrapping film in China began in 1997 with the cooperation between the Light Industry Plastics Application Technology Research Institute of Beijing Institute of Light Industry (now Beijing Technology and Business University) and BP Company. The technology has been successfully put into use. Representative enterprises include Wuxi Rongsheng Protective Film Factory, Guangzhou Sanda Plastic Packaging Factory, etc.
3. Food Aseptic Packaging Film
Food aseptic packaging film refers to a food packaging film that can withstand the ultra-high temperature required for instant sterilization of food (such as dairy products, beverages, and seasonings). This packaging film can make food have a longer shelf life without preservatives and refrigeration. This is a new technology and one of the development directions of plastic packaging. There are two types of food aseptic packaging. One is a large aseptic packaging bag with a capacity of 5 to 1000L. The composite film for bag making is mainly composed of PET aluminized film and PE film; the other is an aseptic cup packaging, which uses PP/PE/EVA/PVDC/PS multi-layer co-extruded composite film, in which PP is a protective layer film, EVA is an adhesive layer, and PVDC is an oxygen barrier layer.
4. Fruit and vegetable cling film
Fruit and vegetable cling film is used for fruit and vegetable packaging to inhibit the metabolism and nutrient loss of fruits and vegetables during the storage process, and maintain the flavor and quality of fruits and vegetables. my country is the world's largest producer and consumer of fruits and vegetables, and about 30% of fruits and vegetables are lost during storage and transportation due to lack of freshness, so the preservation of fruits and vegetables in my country has great economic value. At present, polyethylene film and polypropylene film are widely used in fruit and vegetable fresh-keeping packaging. When selecting suitable fresh-keeping packaging films, their air permeability must be considered to maintain appropriate oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the film. At the same time, a certain amount of porous substances (such as zeolite, Otani stone, etc.) can be added to absorb the ethylene gas released by fruits.
5. Metallocene-catalyzed polyolefin film
The polyolefin film prepared by metallocene single-center active catalysis has outstanding excellent properties. Currently, there are mainly MPE, MPP, MPS, etc. This film has better heat sealing performance, tensile performance, and puncture resistance than traditional films. It can effectively solve the problems of penetration rupture and heat sealing cracking in liquid packaging. It is mostly used in the heat sealing layer of composite films for liquid packaging such as milk, soy sauce, and shampoo.
6. Biaxially oriented film
Biaxially oriented film has always occupied an important position in film packaging, including biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), biaxially oriented polyester (BOPET), biaxially oriented nylon (BOPA), etc., among which BOPP has the largest output. BOPP film is a new type of transparent packaging material developed in the 1960s. It has the advantages of light weight, non-toxicity, odorlessness, moisture resistance, high mechanical properties, good dimensional stability, and good printability. It can be widely used in the packaging of food, candy, cigarettes, tea, juice, milk, textiles, etc. The production methods of BOPP film include bubble tube method and tentering method, among which the tentering method is more commonly used. This method is to extrude the granular BOPP special material into a film through a flat die, and then quench it on a cooling roller, and then preheat it under different conditions, and then stretch the film longitudinally and transversely, so that the comprehensive performance of the film can be greatly improved. In my country, the huge demand for flexible packaging provides a good market opportunity for the development of the BOPP industry. However, since the late 1990s, the BOPP film industry has seen a wave of cross-industry competition to introduce BOPP production lines. It is expected that by the end of 2005, the national BOPP production capacity will exceed 2 million tons, while the annual market demand is only about 900,000 tons, that is, 1/2 of the production capacity will be vacant. The co-extruded heat-sealable biaxially oriented polypropylene film produced by Nanjing Zhongda, while maintaining the heat shrinkage of BOPP, adopts the hole positioning technology to solve the heat sealing and the adhesion of the middle strip film and the small strip film.
Among the biaxially oriented materials, the market share of BOPET and BOPA films follows BOPP. The domestic BOPET film industry has also seen overheated development and irrational investment, and it is expected that this oversupply situation will become more serious in the next few years.
7. CPP and CPE films
These two films are produced by the cast film method, that is, by casting the PP or PE melt and quenching it to produce a non-stretched, non-directional PP or PE flat extruded film. CPP and CPE films have excellent performance balance, and subsequent processes such as printing and lamination are extremely convenient. They are widely used in the packaging field, especially CPP, which has a large market. At present, my country has introduced more than 60 CPP production lines with a total production capacity of more than 150,000 tons. The domestic market for CPP films is mainly composite packaging films, and the largest applications are aluminized films and cooking films. Among them, Shanghai Zijiang Color Printing Co., Ltd.'s laser anti-counterfeiting film, Zihua Co., Ltd.'s breathable cast film, and Ziteng Co., Ltd.'s anti-static CPP film are all included in the national torch project.
Distribution pattern
China's two major PPPE film production centers are located in the adjacent coastal provinces/cities in eastern China - Jiangsu/Shanghai/Zhejiang - and Guangdong Province in the southeast, accounting for 33% and 32% of the country's total production, respectively. Some of China's largest film production converters, including Foshan Plastics Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Hongshun Plastic Industry Co., Ltd. and Nanya Plastic Industry (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., are all located in Guangdong Province. Five provinces and cities, including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai, account for more than half of the country's total production.
Four major regions of PVC packaging in China

First, it is a high-end bag manufacturing base centered on Shiling Town, Huadu City, Guangdong, radiating the Pan-Pearl River Delta and dominated by foreign capital. 90% of its products are sold to the European and American markets, making it the "leader" of China's PVC bag industry;

Second, it is a medium- and high-end PVC bag manufacturing base centered on Quanzhou, Fujian, dominated by Taiwanese and Hong Kong capital. At present, there are more than 1,000 enterprises with an annual output value of more than 8 billion yuan, accounting for about 40% of the national total;

Third, the Pan-Yangtze River Delta region centered on Shanghai has built the Shanghai International Leather Goods and Luggage Trading Center. Foreign buyers place orders based on samples all year round, attracting a large number of private bag enterprises in Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang with strong financial strength to settle in;

Fourth, the Baigou area in Hebei has become the largest PVC bag professional market in the country with its successful experience in operating bags since the 1990s, driving the development of related enterprises in surrounding provinces and promoting the formation of a new industrial chain.

2. Development trend of packaging film

After the rapid development in the 1990s, China's plastic flexible packaging has entered a period of stable development. Profit margins are gradually declining and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. At present, what aspects should the development of domestic plastic flexible packaging focus on? This is a common concern in the industry. The following are the development priorities of domestic plastic flexible packaging:
The 21st century is the century of environmental protection. Building a circular economy society and taking the path of sustainable development have become the focus of global attention and an urgent task. In order to adapt to the requirements of the new era, in addition to meeting the market's increasing requirements for packaging quality and quantity, the development of plastic packaging materials must be based on saving resources, easy recycling after use, easy disposal or easy environmental absorption or degradation as the starting point of technology development. New materials, new processes, new technologies, and new products for plastic packaging are constantly emerging, and are developing in the direction of high performance, multi-function, actively adopting new raw materials, new technologies, expanding application areas, and harmonious development of plastic packaging and environmental protection.
1. High barrier packaging materials that improve protection performance and extend shelf life. Such as the development and application of high barrier co-extruded composite films; High-resistance plastic packaging materials have been rapidly developed and widely used because they can preserve quality, freshness, flavor and extend shelf life. In addition to the currently widely used polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene, and vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH), in recent years, the development of environmentally friendly materials has promoted the development of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyethylene terephthalate (PEN), copolyamide (MXD6), silicon or aluminum oxide steamed film (soft glass), and nano-inorganic materials, which will be more eye-catching. The use of metallocene polyolefins (MHDPE, MLLDPE, MPP) can further improve many properties of soft packaging such as strength, toughness, transparency, barrier properties, heat resistance and processability. In 2006, the development trend of improving the technical level and environmental adaptability of soft plastic packaging films (bags) has become a hot spot in the development of the industry. A number of new products with oil resistance, flavor retention, moisture resistance and mildew resistance have emerged in composite high-barrier, multifunctional packaging and aseptic packaging technologies. The demand for anti-counterfeiting and anti-static packaging has also developed rapidly. High-barrier and functional soft plastic composite packaging films (bags) are developing towards a new technical level.
2. Development and application of aseptic packaging materials, antibacterial packaging films, and radiation-resistant packaging films; the biggest advantage of aseptic packaging materials and technologies is that under aseptic conditions, no preservatives are added, no refrigeration is required, and the original nutrients and flavor of food can be retained to the maximum extent, which can greatly extend the shelf life and facilitate storage and transportation. The market is developing very rapidly and the uses are constantly expanding. In addition to occupying a large share in dairy products and fruit drinks, it will be further expanded to the fields of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and condiments.
In the process of development, the sanitation and safety of flexible packaging films (bags) are also facing serious challenges. Many food plastic packaging materials on the market are difficult to meet the national requirements for food safety, hygiene and environmental protection. In recent years, the sampling pass rate of packaging bags in various places has been low, only 50-60%. From the Lanzhou "toxic milk powder" incident broadcast by CCTV in July 2005 (due to excessive toluene and xylene solvent residues, the packaging film (bag) failed to meet the standards) to the toxicity of the plasticizer diisooctyl adipate (DIOA) added to PVC cling film in October, the reason for this situation is not only the problems of the enterprises themselves, but also inseparable from the insufficient management and control of the industry by the state. The deep-seated problems and factors infiltrated by this incident deserve our deep consideration and attention.
3. Nanocomposite packaging materials will be industrialized rapidly with the rapid development of nanotechnology. Due to the obvious enhancement and improvement of wear resistance, hardness, strength, barrier property and plasticity, in addition to food packaging, they can also be used for special packaging such as anti-static, anti-electromagnetic, invisible, dangerous goods packaging, etc., and heat-resistant packaging materials suitable for electromagnetic cookers and microwave ovens. It will promote a huge change in traditional plastic packaging materials.
4 Environmentally friendly (environmentally friendly) plastic packaging materials (or green plastic packaging materials) have become a hot topic of global concern with the implementation of the environmental management standard IS 14000 series. Among them, plastic packaging materials that are easy to recycle and reuse, such as PET and PEN, and biodegradable plastics in environmentally degradable plastics (EDP), have become the hottest of the hot spots. Others such as zero-pollution foam plastics, thin-walled bottles and bag-shaped packaging containers have also attracted much attention. Suitable for packaging materials such as grain and other agricultural products storage controlled atmosphere packaging;
But no matter which plastic packaging is used, it is necessary to use a plastic packaging material to store food and other agricultural products.