Polyester film (PET) production continues to grow, and the high-end market has broad room for development

Polyester film refers to a polymer plastic film made from polyester chips or purified terephthalic acid as raw materials through processes such as drying, melting, extrusion, casting, and stretching. Polyester film is colorless and transparent in appearance, and has the advantages of high toughness, strong barrier properties, and high temperature resistance.

According to the “2022 Global and China Polyester Film Industry In-depth Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, the main raw materials of polyester film They are purified terephthalic acid (PTA), paraxylene (PX), ethylene glycol (MEG), ethylene oxide (EO), etc. my country is the world’s largest producer and consumer of purified terephthalic acid, accounting for nearly 70% of the world’s production capacity. In 2021, my country’s purified terephthalic acid production reached 53.672 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%. At present, my country’s purified terephthalic acid is facing the problem of overcapacity, but it can fully meet the production demand of polyester film. In 2021, my country’s polyester film output reached 2.815 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%.

Polyester film is mainly used in the packaging field, including packaging of food, medicine, electronics, chemicals and other products. In recent years, the packaging industry has achieved rapid development as a pillar industry of the national economy. According to statistics from the China Packaging Federation, the operating income of enterprises above designated size in my country’s packaging industry will reach 1.20418 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 19.7%. With the rapid development of economy and R&D technology, the application fields of polyester film will continue to expand. Driven by market demand, the prosperity of the polyester film industry continues to increase. In 2021, my country’s polyester film market will reach 35.86 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%.

Based on different production processes and materials, polyester films can be divided into two types: biaxially oriented polyester films (BOPET films) and uniaxially oriented polyester films (CPET films). As a high-end polyester film, biaxially oriented polyester film requires vertical and horizontal stretching steps during the production process. It has the advantages of heat resistance, high transparency, and good mechanical properties, and has a wide range of applications. Uniaxially stretched polyester film is a low-end polyester film that is stretched longitudinally during the production process. It is often used in the field of pharmaceutical packaging. However, due to low application demand, the market penetration rate of uniaxially stretched polyester film is low.

At present, my country mainly produces mid- to low-end polyester films, and high-end polyester films are highly dependent on imports. Affected by factors such as national policy support and technological progress, local companies have carried out industrial layout, which has led to an increase in the market penetration rate of domestic high-end polyester films. my country’s leading polyester film companies include Changyang Technology, Yuxing Co., Ltd., etc.

Industry analysts said that in recent years, the application demand for polyester films has continued to expand, driving its market size to continue to grow. my country is a major producer of polyester film. Benefiting from sufficient supply of raw materials, polyester film production capacity continues to increase. But at present, my country’s polyester film production is mainly concentrated in the mid- to low-end fields. With continuous breakthroughs and innovations in production and research and development technology, high-end products represented by biaxially oriented polyester films will gain broad market prospects.