Page 33 - FINAT Yearbook 2011

15 years earlier. Over that same period, paper roll materials added 80% to their estimated European market volume in 1996, to record 4 bln sqm in 2010. Since the turn of the millennium, the share of filmic roll label materials in the total demand for self-adhesive label materials increased from around 15% at the beginning of the decade to over 22.5% last year.
double-digit growth in (south)east europe, strong resilience centrally, modest recovery northwest europe
Geographically, growth in demand was driven by Eastern and Southern Europe (including Turkey). Both regions recorded healthy double digit growth figures of 20.6% and 13% respectiv- ely. Within these regions, Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria and Romania stood out with annualized growth (well) in excess of 20%, a sign of strong economic development in this emerging region. In the more matured regions, growth of self-adhesive label demand was more modest at around 4.5 – 8.5%, although double digit growth figures recorded for Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain ranked above the top end of this range.
eastward shift of demand balance
Underlying this short-term ‘weather report’, there are longer term trends indicating a fundamental shift in geographic label demand patterns that reflect the different stages of the economic ‘climate’ across Europe. As can be seen from the evolution of labelstock consumption in the different regions since 2002, demand for self-adhesive label materials in Eastern Europe more than doubled in less than 10 years, well ahead of the other regions of which Central and Southern Europe still recorded a respectable 40- 50% cumulative increase. On the other hand, the regions more to the Northwest remained stagnant for most of the last decade.
In 2010, for the first time, labelstock demand in the emerging countries of Eastern Europe exceeded the 1 billion sqm. benchmark. In spite of this, consumption per capita in the countries behind the former Iron Curtain is still well below the European average of 7 m2, at 3.3 m2 of self-adhesive label materials per head, indicating a strong potential for further growth as economies mature, welfare levels increase, global brand owners invest in manufacturing sites, retail structures become more refined and investment on modern packaging and labelling technology allows new players in the label sector to leapfrog their competitors in the more mature markets.
At the other end of the spectrum, demand in the Northwes- tern regions of Europe per capita appears to have reached maturity at 12 - 13 m2 per head. Although Central Europe is at similar per capita levels, the economic structure of these countries has enabled the label sector in the so-called DACH countries and the Benelux to increase per capita demand for label materials. Demand per capita in these countries stood at 13.3 m2 in 2010, against 6.6 m2 in the European countries bordering the Mediterranean. Comparing Central with the much larger Southern European region, it is striking that
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finat Yearbook 2011 |