Extruded PLA Fiber Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Extruded PLA Fiber Market Overview

Extruded PLA (Polylactic Acid) Fiber Market size is forecast to reach US$3.0 billion by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 20% during 2021-2026 due to increasing consumption from packaging, medical & healthcare, and other application as extruded polylactic acid fiber consists of biodegradability and are eco-friendly. Thus, rapidly growing concerns related to environmental and health safety are estimated to grow the demand for extruded polylactic acid fiber. Polylactic acid is a thermoplastic polyester and an excellent alternative to textile fiber which is derived from renewable sources such as corn and sugar. These packaging materials break down into nontoxic particles during degradation which helps to reduce the amount of plastic waste. Hence, due to its versatility, it is used in the packaging sector, health care and medical industry, and textile which is estimated to grow the demand for extruded polylactic acid fibers.

Due to COVID-19, extruded PLA fiber market has been negatively affected. These fibers are used as packaging materials from various end-use industries such as food packaging, medical sector, automotive, and others. But during this pandemic, the demand and supply of these packaging materials were decreased due to the shutdown of all manufacturing plants in 2020 which created a hindrance for the consumption of extruded PLA fibers.

Report Coverage

The report: “Extruded PLA Fiber Market– Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Extruded PLA Fiber Market.

By Material: Sugarbeet, Cornstarch, Maize, Sugarcane, Tapioca Roots, and Others

By Application: Packaging, Agriculture, Medical & Healthcare, Textiles, Transportation, and Others

By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, ANZ, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of Asia Pacific), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), and RoW (Middle East and Africa) 

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominates the extruded PLA fiber market owing to increasing demand from various applications such as packaging, healthcare and medical, automotive, and textile industries.
• According to Food and Drug Administration (FDA), polylactic acid fiber is a thermoplastic polyester that is used as packaging materials for short shelf life food products such as fruit and vegetables.
• Additionally, increasing demand for extruded PLA fiber from pharmaceutical applications such as drug delivery and fiber applications is estimated to grow the market scenario.

Figure: APAC Extruded PLA Fiber Market, 2021-2026 (US$ Billion)

Corn held a significant share in the global extruded polylactic acid fiber market in 2020. Corn is a natural and renewable source that is used to produce polylactic acid. Advance fermentation of corn helps to reduce the production cost of lactic acid. Therefore, the production of polylactic is rapidly growing. China is a major producer of PLA after America. In 2020, Chinese company “Anhui Fengyuan” announced a production plan for PLA that is expected to reach 35 million tonnes by 2030. Hence, corn demand is expected to grow for the production of extruded polylactic acid fibers.

Extruded PLA Fiber Market Segment Analysis – By Application

Packaging segment dominated the extruded polylactic acid (PLA) fibers market in 2020 and is growing at a CAGR of 20.2% during 2021-2026 as it offers various properties such as degradability, biocompatibility, and excellent recyclability. Extruded PLA fibers are used in the packing of cups, overwrap, blister packages, and food containers. Extruded polylactic acid is also used as renewable and biodegradable packaging materials for dairy products. PLA is a recyclable and eco-friendly product that is used in antimicrobial food packaging materials. It is a thermoplastic fiber that is used in the packaging of medical implants, textile fibers, and plastic bags. Therefore, the demand for extruded PLA fiber is increasing in the packaging industry as it is made from natural sources such as corn scratches or sugar beets.  Hence, increasing demand from the packaging industry is estimated to boost the demand for extruded PLA fibers.

Extruded PLA Fiber Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

Asia Pacific is anticipated to dominate the global market of extruded PLA fiber market in 2020 with a share of 30% due to increasing consumption of extruded PLA fiber in developing countries such as India and China from the packaging industry. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the packaging industry is expected to reach US$ 204.81 billion by 2025 from US$ 50.5 billion in 2019. The e-commerce segment of the packaging market is forecast to reach US$ 975.4 million by 2025. Furthermore, according to Healthcare Information Company IQVIA, China was the world’s second-largest national pharmaceutical market in 2017 $122.6 billion. It was also the biggest emerging market for pharmaceuticals with growth tipped to reach $145 billion to $175 billion by 2022. Additionally, India’s domestic pharmaceutical market is estimated at US$ 41 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024 and around US$ 120-130 billion by 2030. Thus increasing the consumption of extruded PLA fiber is expected to propel the market size.

Extruded PLA Fiber Market Drivers

• Growing Demand from the Packaging Industry

Extruded polylactic acid is a thermoplastic polyester packaging material, which has a wide range of applications such as in agricultural films, biomedical devices, food products packaging, and the automotive industry as it offers high mechanical strength, high modulus absorbability, transparency, energy savings, low toxicity features.  Moreover, polylactic acid is an excellent material in antimicrobial packaging. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted polylactic acid as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) because it is non-toxic and biodegradable fiber. Therefore, the growing packaging industry is estimated to grow the market demand. According to Cosmetic Europe, a personal care association, the cosmetics market of the United States increased by 8.81 % to euro 73.7 billion (US$ 82.50 billion) in 2019 compared to euro 67.2 billion (US$ 79.36) in 2018. Additionally, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India’s domestic pharmaceutical market is estimated to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024 and  ~US$ 120-130 billion by 2030, which is estimated to boost the demand for extruded polylactic acid fiber. 

Growing Environmental Awareness

Polylactic acid (PLA) fibers are eco-friendly products that have unique properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, and excellent mechanical properties. PLA is a renewable plant-based thermoplastic fiber processed from corn scratch or sugar beet that is environment friendly and sustainable. Polylactic acid fiber is a fully biodegradable packaging material and biocompatible thermoplastic polyester. It is eco-friendly for consumer apparel applications such as outdoor furniture, automotive interior fabrics, shoe linings, and disposable products (diapers and wipes). Hence increasing environmental awareness in various countries around the world is driving the demand for polylactic thermoplastic polyester which is estimated to boost the extruded PLA market size. 

Extruded PLA Fiber Market Challenges

• Growing Demand for Alternative Products

Polylactic fiber (PLA) is used in 3D printing and fused deposition modeling technologies but its glass transition temperature is low compared to other fibers. PLA is stiffer than acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and has poor heat-resistance properties. ABS thermoplastic fiber is also used in container packaging and 3D printing due to its various properties such as excellent strength, ductility, machinability, and thermal stability. Apart from this, nylon fiber is a flexible, durable plastic with less stiffness than PLA. This alternative may hamper the extruded PLA fiber market growth in the near future. 

Extruded PLA Fiber Market Landscape

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the extruded PLA fiber market. Major players in the Extruded PLA Fiber Market include:

1. BASF
2. Braskem
3. Eastman Chemical
4. NatureWorks
5. Nova Chemicals
6. Sinopec
7. Bayer
8. Cargill
9. Danimer Scientific
10. DuPont
11. ExxonMobil, and among others.

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