Latin America Paper Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The Latin America paper packaging market is expected to register a CAGR of 3.9% over the forecast period 2021 to 2026. The COVID-19 outbreak increased hygiene awareness among consumers in the country and motivated consumers in the country to increase their spending on home care and hygiene sector to prevent COVID-19 infection in 2020. ​Also, the growing demand for liquid detergents has been high, mainly from the hospitality and laundry industries.​ This has increased the demand for secondary packaging with foldable cartons.

Key Highlights

• The market is growing due to the rapid development of the fast and frozen food businesses and an increase in the number of customers purchasing supermarket products such as frozen and chilled meals. Furthermore, packaging materials aid in the preservation of food and nutritional value, all of which contribute to the growth of the Paper Packaging Materials Market.
• The overall packaging market in the country is significantly growing, in which the paper and cardboard segments are playing a significant role. Although plastic still dominates the market, due to the growing environmental sustainability concerns, the market is expected to shift to options like paper.
• In the electrical sector, Iron boxes, switches, sockets, and electrical equipment meant for consumer markets prefer corrugated packaging products. Moreover, these packaging products do not cover substantial storage space when empty and can be folded. Being lighter than the other packaging solutions, these products are cheaper and cost-effective from a logistics point of view while offering a similar level of protection.​
• The market's growth is being restrained by the high cost of paper packaging and the incapacity of paper to package cumbersome items. Furthermore, environmental worries about deforestation to obtain raw materials and the discharge of dioxins during paper production limit its market expansion.

Key Market Trends

Increase In Demand for Paper Packaging in Food Industry

• Due to the rising incomes, urban lifestyle changes, and modern retail trade, the food packaging market is expanding significantly in categories, such as bakery products, canned, processed food, frozen processed foods, meal replacement products, condiments, etc. and in emerging categories like dairy products, frozen ready-to-eat foods, diet snacks, processed meat, and probiotic drinks.
• Packaging types such as folding cartons are used for packing requirements of diverse sizes and shapes and can be regarded as a pioneer in the food packaging industry. Packaging plays a dynamic and vital role in passing on the various benefits and attributes of a product to the consumer at the point of sale.
• Consumer lifestyles in Latin America are increasing in demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. According to Food and Drug Regulatory, a Latin AmericaPackaging company, the rise of grab-and-go meals and RTE are shaping the future of the food packaging trends in the Region.​
• Flexible packaging such as sack, Kraft paper, coated papers, paper-pouches, etc., in the region is also growing due to recyclability, affordability, lightweight, and growth in packaged foods overall. The demand for packaged foods is growing, and more multinational companies are entering the market as the region.
• In addition to incremental gains in lightweight board grades and introducing recycled paper content, environmental pressures from brands and consumers are pushing the market toward eco-friendly materials

Brazil is Driving Towards Significant Growth

• Currently, consumers prefer recyclability and biodegradability as important parameters of packaging over reusability. This underlines the growing concerns of consumers about the environmental impact of packaging wastes in the future. These are some global market trends that are also reflected across the Brazilian market in recent years.
• According to certain estimates, nearly more than half of all paperboard packaging is used in food product segments, such as beverages and dairy products, candy and confectioneries, dry foods, and frozen foods. In December 2020, Nestlé Brazil, in collaboration with Switzerland-based systems and solutions provider for aseptic carton packaging, SIG, introduces SIG paper straws on the NESCAU beverage range with carton packs of renewable and recyclable paper straw solution.
• Imports moved a total of USD 626.7 million in 2020, representing a decrease of 0.8%, compared to 2019. The paper/cardboard segment represented 7.5% of the total imports.
• The companies in the country are also investing in technologies for product innovation and enhance efficiency. In October 2020, SIG was increasingly targeting the food and beverage industry in Brazil and had gained benefits with the digitization of processes in Brazil due to the implementation of an RFID solution from iTag Etiquetas Inteligentes. In October 2020, the company reported that due to this, they gained productivity and reduced the use of paper within the process.
• In the country, industries such as beverages, clothing, accessories, leather, and accessories were highly impacted by the pandemic. However, the demand grew in the industries that use consumer goods, such as food, pharmaceuticals, cleaning, and perfumery. The scope of paper packaging expanded in healthcare and packed food segments, owing to trends like a significant surge in the e-commerce demand.

Competitive Landscape

The Latin American market is moderately consolidated, with the presence of a few major companies. The companies are continuously investing in making strategic partnerships and product developments to gain more market share. Some of the recent developments in the market are:

June 2020- Europe-based independent manufacturers of containerboard and corrugated board packaging, Klingele Paper & Packaging Group, signed an agreement with Klabin to purchase the kraft liner mill in Nova Campina. This strategic move is expected to improve the supply of raw materials to the Klingele Group and the Blue Box Partners Alliance.

October 2020- US-based International Paper completed the previously disclosed sale of its Brazilian corrugated packaging business to Klabin SA. The business has three containerboard mills and four box plants. The company will continue to run its papers business and forestry operations in Brazil.

July 2021 - Ranpak Holdings Corp., one of the leading providers of environmentally sustainable, paper-based packaging solutions for e-commerce and industrial supply chains, recently announced its investment in Pickle Robot Company, a leader in robots for automated sorting, loading, and unloading of packaged goods within logistical lines. Pickle Robot has created a collaborative package-handling robot that automates several essential jobs in the e-commerce supply chain at a reasonable cost.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support