Global demand for plastics resins in healthcare to grow

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (ICIS)–Global demand for plastic resins in the healthcare sector is expected to grow significantly in the next four years, a senior executive from SABIC said on Wednesday.

“We expect global demand to grow due to advances in technology and strong packaging demand in pharmaceuticals,” said Hery Randrianantoandro, Healthcare Segment Leader from SABIC at the GPCA PlastiCon 2014 conference in Sharjah.

Randrianantoandro estimated the global demand for plastic resins in the healthcare sector will grow from 4m tonnes/year in 2012 to 6m tonnes/year in 2018.

He added that containers, tubing and syringes constituted a significant percentage of the total plastic resins demand.

Randrianantoandro said the healthcare sector is “highly regulated” and plastic manufacturers will need to take necessary steps to ensure the resins produced are of high quality.

“We also need to make sure special procedures are in place for storage and transportation of resins,” he added.

The conference ends on Wednesday.