Thailand Folding Carton Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Market Overview

The Thai folding carton packaging market is expected to register a CAGR of 8.42%, during the forecast period (2021-2026). The food and beverage industry provides excellent opportunities for foldable carton packaging. Thailand has one of Asia's most advanced food processing segments, with more than 10,000 food-and-beverage processing factories. It is the third-largest sector, and it accounts for over 20% of the country's GDP.

• The increasing concerns of Thai people associated with packaging wastes are likely to compel them to adopt environment-friendly options, such as folding cartons, as a viable choice for packaging. In 2019, the Thai Packaging Association announced that Thailand's packaging and printing industries are shifting away from plastic and utilizing more eco-friendly products in line with the government's policy to ban plastic packaging in the future. As per the president of the Thai Packaging Association, packaging and printing industries in the country may consume more volumes of paper, as the concern regarding plastic waste grows.
• The growing urban lifestyle of the consumers in the country increased disposable income, and higher employment levels have also been driving the demand for packaged convenience food. According to the World Bank, in 2018, 50% of the total population of Thailand lived in urban areas and cities. According to the Federation of Thai Industries, the packaging and printing industries may grow by 2%-3% in 2019, driven by the food and beverage demand.​
• Thailand has begun lifting restrictions after a steady decline in the number of coronavirus infections, but the impact of the outbreak is negative across industries, including packaging. On March 4, 2020, the Thai government issued Phase One of the incentives to counter the COVID-19 epidemic The stimulus package, valued at THB 100 billion (USD 3.2 billion), provides assistance for businesses and households in the form of low-interest loans and cash handouts. The folding carton packaging industry in the country is suffering due to a lack of demand from major end-user industries and the unavailability of raw materials due to disrupted supply chains. Thailand's Siam Cement Group (SCG) Packaging has postponed its USD 1 billion initial public offering (IPO) as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak rattling the global financial markets.

Scope of the Report

Folding carton is one of the most used eco-friendly packaging solutions, due to its ability to be customized in various sizes with a small footprint, compared to other packaging options, thus, making it feasible for use in different end-user industries.

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Key Market Trends

Food and Beverage Industry in Thailand Driving Demand for Folding Carton Packaging

• The food and beverage industry is the area where companies in the country produce value-added products. The growth of this sector is powered by a huge population (67.79 million people in 2018, and it is expected to increase to 68.26 million by 2024, as per the IMF), rising incomes, and increased spending on food by growing middle-class population. As a result, the growing food and beverage sector is expected to provide significant opportunities for the market studied during the forecast period. ​
• In the food sector, there is a strong demand for packaged food. As the greater share of the population lives in Bangkok's sprawling suburbs, the demand for convenient packaged food options is growing. Moreover, rapid urbanization has increased the demand for processed foods and ready-to-eat meals in the country. Ready-to-eat meal products are among the top adopters of cartons as the secondary form of packaging. ​
• Additionally, there is an increasing demand for folding cartons from the dairy packaging sector. Liquid cartons are the most common type of paperboard packaging used for dairy products. The milk consumption in the country is likely to increase, as consumers in the country are actively switching from soft drinks to healthy dairy alternatives. Currently, people in the country drink about 18 liters of milk per head per year (as of 2018), and it is estimated to reach 25 liters per head per year by 2026. This is expected to keep a constant demand for folding cartons from the country's dairy packaging sector, as most of the consumers prefer dairy products for the daily protein requirements.​
• In 2019, Tetra Pak, a food processing and packaging solutions company, along with mMilk, launched a tetra top carton bottle for the first time in Thailand. mMilk is well known in the country for its lactose-free milk. The mMilk products, like A2+ and Green Milk, will be sold in Thailand in tetra top carton bottles. Moreover, these carton bottles are recyclable and bear the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label, which guarantees that the paper carton comes from responsibly managed forests.

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