The share of paper packaging in the estimated $74bn overall packaging market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) continues to see exponential growth with the e-commerce boom and consumer preference veers to sustainable and environment-friendly solutions.
Industry experts participating at the upcoming leading B2B exhibition, Propaper 2023, said that in line with this demand growth, investments in kraft paper mills have also risen in the region in the post-Covid era, with enhanced use of paper packaging across industry verticals such as food, catering hygiene, pharma and cosmetics driving up demand.
Propaper Dubai 2023 will host a large contingent of global paper and packaging companies which are at the vanguard of innovation.
The show which also incorporates Super Sourcing Dubai under the auspices of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), will run during September 12-14 at Dubai at the Festival Arena at Dubai Festival City. It will witness participation from Egyptian, Indian and Chinese companies.
“E-commerce continues to be on an upsurge in the GCC and larger MEA markets, and this has in turn catalysed the demand for packaging solutions across the board. The overall e-commerce market in the region may surpass $25bn within the next couple of years, and this will obviously fuel the need for paper packaging solutions, and the paper industry with its sustainable and alternative propositions stands to gain,” said Majid Rasheed – Managing Director of the UAE’s Star Paper Mill Paper Industry.
Quoting a Data Bridge Market Research report, Propaper 2023 spokespeople said that the kraft paper market will continue to gain market share. According to the forecast for 2020-2028, the kraft paper market will grow at a CAGR of 3.8% in the UAE alone to over $54m.
“The growth in paper food packaging which surged during and after the pandemic continues to create growth for paper players in the MEA markets, and specifically in the GCC, where internet penetration is the world’s highest aiding online commerce. The opportunity size has also grown with verticals like pharma, personal care and cosmetics taking to paper packaging solutions in a big way riding the e-commerce boom,” said Omar Ali Abdullah Al Hosni, Chairperson, Keryas Paper Industry, Oman.
Anticipating increased demand in this sector, Keryas Paper Mills had announced investments in the kraft paper segment to manufacture re-cycled kraft paper jumbo reels, unveiling a $40m kraft paper project in the UAE during the previous Propaper expo in 2022.
Star Paper Mills had also announced investments in the kraft paper segment, and in collaboration with RC, Paper Machines had announced an investment of over $54m in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) to manufacture re-cycled kraft paper jumbo reels.
A Mordor Intelligence report also confirmed the growth trend in B2C and B2B paper packaging solutions at an estimated CAGR of 4.30% in MEA during 2023-2028.
“The paper industry has been seeing a steady surge of investments, both as expansion in existing projects as well as greenfield projects with the market for paper-based products consistently rising.
In the GCC alone, the growth has been pronounced for paper packaging with a digitally savvy and sustainability-conscious young population accelerating their online spending,” said Jeen Joshua, Managing Director, Verifair.
