Positive signs for beverage packaging market but uncertainties remain

Mittwoch 15 September 2010

Major uncertainties continue to make it difficult to predict a recovery in the global packaging market for beer and soft drinks, according to Canadean.

Working with figures for volume of beer and soft drinks consumed, the beverage market research firm had predicted that the global market would dip 0.4 per cent in 2010 after recording growth of 1.3 per cent in 2009.

But there have been some signs of recovery in beer and soft drink volumes so far this year, suggesting that the 2010 forecast may be beaten.

Canadean analyst Stephanie Coleman told BeverageDaily.com that some markets are considerably more positive in the latest forecasts than they were at the end of Q1. In particular, full year forecasts for Russia have been revised upwards following growth in Q2.

Uncertain times
But the analyst added a word of caution. Not all markets have been moving in a positive direction and plenty of uncertainty remains, even in those that are. Russia, for example, is still considered an extremely volatile market making it difficult to count on a continued recovery.

While market data for 2010 may show signs of recovery, Coleman said: “The final figure will depend a lot on what happens in the very volatile Russian market, just how quickly markets like China continue to grow and also the weather around the world, which can have a big impact.”

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