According to a new report published by Transparency Market Research "Glass Packaging Market for Food and Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Beer and Other Alcoholic Beverages - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019," the global market for glass packaging was valued at USD 47.43 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach USD 59.94 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 3.4% from 2013 to 2019. In terms of volume, global demand was 45.71 million tons in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.1% from 2013 to 2019.
Dark colored glass bottles are often used in packaging of beer as glass helps in deflecting UV rays, thereby reducing the occurrence of "skunky" beer. Rise in global consumption of beer is expected to be one of the primary factors driving the glass packaging market. In addition, the growth of the healthcare industry and rising use of glass bottles for storage of medicines due to its sterility and reusability is expected to augment the demand for glass packaging over the next few years. However, growing popularity of plastics and its increasing application scope for packaging is expected to hamper the growth of the market. Growing consumer preference towards glass for packaging of food, beverages and chemicals is expected to open new opportunities for the growth of the market over the next few years.
Alcoholic beverages (excluding beer) were the largest application segment of the glass packaging market and accounted for over 50% of the total demand in 2012. However, the consumption of glass in the packaging of beer is expected to witness the fastest growth on account of increasing consumption in Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe coupled with the preference towards glass as packaging material. Alcoholic beverages and pharmaceuticals are expected to show robust demand for glass packaging over the next few years due to its sterility.
Asia Pacific was the largest market for glass packaging and accounted for over 16.1 billion of the overall revenue in 2012. Growing consumption of beer and alcoholic beverages in countries such as India, China, Thailand, Australia and Indonesia are expected to boost the demand for glass as packaging medium in these countries. Europe was the second largest market for glass packaging accounting for over 13.34 million tons of overall demand in 2012.
