Russian PET sector could collapse if proposed beer packaging ban implemented, warns industry; PET holds 50% share of plastics packaging market, ban would cause thousands of plant closures, companies say

Kathryn Mackenzie

LOS ANGELES , June 25, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – A proposed Russian ban on the use of PET for beer packaging will result in the closure of thousands of PET manufacturing plants throughout the country where such packaging holds a 50% market share, say top Russian plastic packaging producers. Companies that include JSC Ada Uralplast, one of Russia's largest plastic packaging manufacturers, say a ban on PET would cause the industry to collapse, according to a June 25, 2012 report from European Plastics News.   

Industry leaders are asking the Russian government to block the PET ban on beer packaging in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan that was proposed in 2011 to help deter alcohol consumption in those areas, according to European Plastics News. Along with JSC Ada Uralplast, a number of PET packaging companies have joined in on the fight against the ban, including Naberezhnye Chelny, Nalchik, Krasnodar, and Saratov, says the report.

Along with hurting beer sales, a blanket ban on PET could also have a deleterious effect on the water and soft drinks industries, as well as producers of polymer raw materials, according to European Plastics News. The costs involved in switching to glass containers would also have a negative affect on consumers, since producers would be forced to pass on the estimated 15% increase in manufacturing costs, causing a comparable rise in beer prices. 

The primary source of this article is European Plastics News, London, June 25, 2012.

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