Asia And Africa Food Cans Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Asia And Africa Food Cans Market Trends and Insights

High Recyclable Score of Metal Cans Over Alternatives

Metal cans achieve recyclability rates above 90% in mature markets, positioning them favorably against plastics that face escalating regulatory scrutiny. South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility program, in effect since 2021, imposes differentiated per-ton fees that financially reward highly recyclable substrates. China’s convenience-store chain Bianlifeng has rolled out QR-code systems across 1,500 outlets to verify product authenticity, showcasing the digital potential of metal packaging.^{[1]GS1 Ireland, “China Expiry Date Management,” gs1ie.org} In Tanzania’s Arusha city, municipal scrap collection exceeds 314 tonnes per month, resulting in conserved virgin iron ore and energy savings, and signaling to policymakers that the circular value of the Asia and Africa food cans market can be monetized locally. ISO 14001 certification is now a common selection criterion for multinational food processors, reinforcing the competitive edge of recyclable cans.

Demand for Canned Foods Driven by Cost and Convenience Advantages

Urban lifestyles compress meal-preparation time, pushing households toward shelf-stable proteins and vegetables. Indonesia hosts more than 41,000 grocery outlets, giving canned products deep retail reach. Nigerian shoppers increasingly prize nutrition and food safety, and packaging that communicates integrity drives brand preference. Limited refrigerators in peri-urban districts make canned fish and meats the reliable protein of choice. Vietnam’s seafood industry shipped USD 9.2 billion worth of processed products by November 2024, illustrating how canning converts perishable marine harvests into exportable value. HACCP and GMP requirements remain entry tickets to regional supermarket shelves.

Product Innovations Increasing Shelf Life

Regulatory action against bisphenol A accelerates the transition to BPA-non-intent linings. The European Union’s 2024/3190 regulation bans BPA across food-contact materials, prompting converters to field acrylic and polyester alternatives. Toyochem’s Lionova series meets the new thresholds with styrene below detection limits, providing converters with compliant coatings. Thailand’s Ministry of Industry raised hot-fill resistance to 100 °C, driving research into high-temperature polymers that protect food integrity. Integrating freshness sensors and time-temperature indicators furthers shelf-life extension and transparency.

Surge in Ready-to-Eat Seafood Exports From Southeast Asia

Thailand produced 630,434 tons of canned tuna in 2024, channeling 91.9% to overseas buyers. Exporters now customize formulations for halal markets; shipments to the Middle East and Africa rose to 37% of volume in early 2025. Vietnam’s processors offset raw-material shortages by pivoting to value-added lines, lifting shrimp exports 22% in 2024. Malaysia’s record 2,117 MT canned-tuna imports in Q1 2024 underline intra-ASEAN trade momentum. Certification under the Marine Stewardship Council strengthens premium positioning.

Plastic Remains a Credible Alternative

Flexible packs threaten cans in single-serve SKU lines. Rwanda’s plastic ban raised per-unit costs five-fold for certain goods, showing that outright prohibition is not cost-neutral. West Africa’s Mohinani Group built 30,000 tpa rPET plants in Ghana and Nigeria, giving converters low-carbon resin options. Tetra Recart cartons position themselves as 6 times lighter on the environment than tin cans for pet food. Yet cans still support retort temperatures above 121 °C, essential for institutional formats and emergency-relief rations.

Price Volatility of Aluminum and Steel

A projected 16 million-ton aluminum deficit by 2030 requires USD 60-90 billion investment, stressing supply security.^{[2]Boston Consulting Group, “Six Ways to Fix Aluminum’s Supply Shortage,” bcg.com} China removed the 13% VAT rebate on aluminum semis, and capped smelter capacity at 45 million tons, elevating regional premiums. Tin mine shutdowns in the Democratic Republic of Congo disrupted supply, spiking tinplate costs. LME aluminum inventories fell 10% and SHFE stocks 30% in May 2025, exposing buyers to bigger spreads. Hedging strategies and multiregional sourcing emerge as survival levers in the Asia and Africa food cans market.

Segment Analysis

By Material: Aluminum Gains Ground Despite Steel Dominance

Steel and tin drums accounted for 56.81% of the Asia and Africa food cans market share in 2024, driven by established supply chains and price advantages associated with high-volume integrated steel mills in Guangdong and Jiangsu. The segment preserves competitive pricing for institutional tomato paste and large-format fruit cocktail, anchoring the Asia and Africa food cans market size at USD 4.22 billion that year. Producers utilize continuous annealing and chrome-free passivation to comply with EU food-contact regulations, while servo-controlled seamers enhance quality.

Aluminum cans are expected to grow at a 7.92% CAGR to 2030, driven by beverage converters transferring expertise to food lines and as recycling targets favor lightweight alloys. Crown Holdings grew global beverage-can income 24% year-over-year in Q1 2025, demonstrating aluminum’s robust volume trajectory.^{[3]GuruFocus News, “Crown Holdings Q1 2025 Revenue,” gurufocus.com} Supply constraints paradoxically boost the segment’s perceived scarcity value; Indonesia hosts two-thirds of the 2025 smelter additions, but geographic dispersion raises freight costs. Environmental targets under ISO 14001 align multinational food processors with aluminum adoption, underpinning the Asia and Africa food cans market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Can Type: 2-Piece Technology Drives Efficiency Gains

Two-piece bodies controlled 67.38% market revenue in 2024, primarily through draw-and-iron lines that achieve high speed and low metal usage, crucial for cost-sensitive legumes and protein meals. Process automation includes in-line vision inspection and nitrogen dosing to extend headspace life. Crown transferred volumes from Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore into its Vung Tau super-plant, lowering conversion costs for regional accounts.

Three-piece formats show a 7.12% CAGR outlook, fueled by local tomato processors in Nigeria and Ghana that require variable heights and diameters. Dangote’s Kadawa complex runs 1,200 tons per day through three-piece welders optimized for 400 g tomato paste. The technology’s flexibility offsets its higher seam labor share, and laser side-seam welding narrows integrity gaps with two-piece bodies. Investments in automatic seam-powder sprinklers and internal lacquer ovens keep quality on par.

By Application: Pet Food Emerges as Growth Engine

Processed food retained 25.31% market share in 2024, translating to USD 1.88 billion of the Asia and Africa food cans market size. Ready meals, beans, and condiments remain staples for urban consumers with limited cooking time. Indonesia, with 8,556 industrial processors, continues to anchor regional ingredient demand. HACCP audits and SQF-level traceability are now baseline requirements for supermarket listings.

Pet food delivers the fastest 8.56% CAGR, buoyed by a regional pet ownership boom. China’s pet-food sales reached EUR 18.3 billion (USD 19.8 billion) in 2023, yet packaged penetration is below 20%, illustrating vast headroom. Silgan noted that pet food constituted roughly 50% of its metal-container volumes with high-single-digit growth in Q3 2024. Asian brands differentiate through tuna-in-broth and grain-free formulations, which need hermetic retort packaging. Africa’s fledgling middle class mimics the trend, adopting premium wet diets for dogs and cats.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Opening Type: Easy-Open Ends Gain Consumer Preference

Easy-open ends captured 62.56% share in 2024, equating to roughly 34 billion units across Asia and Africa. Pull-tab technology shortens meal prep and reassures safety through tamper evidence. Silgan’s Quick Top leads global supply, supported by its 2021 Easytech acquisition that added end-making presses in China and Italy. EOE growth aligns with modern retail penetration, as supermarkets promote convenience features.

Standard ends remain vital for 3 kg hotel cans and cost-sensitive commodities, and they register a headline 7.34% CAGR as Africa’s processors ramp production of institutional tomato paste and palm fruit concentrate. Simpler double-seam tooling and lower scrap make standard ends attractive to new entrants. Progress in laser score-line control inches standard ends closer to EOE functionality, blurring the gap.

Geography Analysis

Asia delivered 61.01% of 2024 revenue, underpinned by China’s integrated aluminum and steel ecosystems and Southeast Asia’s export-oriented seafood clusters. Crown Holdings manages 27 beverage-can and end plants across Asia, capitalizing on economies of density. Thailand shipped 630,434 tons of canned tuna in 2024, supporting global demand for ready-to-eat protein. Urbanization in India and Indonesia, plus rising per-capita incomes, sustain a 7.01% CAGR outlook. E-commerce penetration expands can consumption through direct-to-consumer grocery boxes, and QR-coded cans allow trace-back to farm origins, fortifying the Asia and Africa food cans market.

Africa contributed 38.99% of 2024 value, with Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt spearheading capacity builds in tomato, fruit, and legume lines. South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility framework rewards the recyclability advantage that cans possess over multilayer flexibles. Supply-chain hurdles persist: port congestion, currency depreciation, and rural logistics add costs. Yet shelf-stable foods fill protein gaps where refrigeration is scarce, anchoring growth. Halal certification drives alignment with Muslim dietary codes across North and West African markets, and local brands increasingly badge cans with dual Arabic and English labeling to broaden reach.

The medium-term prospect shows both regions responding to price volatility through hedging and supplier diversification. Tinplate users source from Taiwan and Turkey to mitigate African mine disruptions, while aluminum purchasers negotiate tolling deals with Middle-Eastern smelters to bypass Chinese export taxes. Sustained infrastructure spending and digital traceability adoption underpin an Asia and Africa food cans market expected to cross USD 10 billion by 2030.