Look at the big pattern hidden behind the plastic industry

Our lives have long been inseparable from plastic. Anything that comes into contact with it, nine times out of ten, there are plastic figures on it. After the rapid development of the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan", my country has become a major producer, consumer and exporter of plastic products in the world.

For the industry, there are also challenges between opportunities. Enterprises are more and more concerned about the trend of the industry and the innovation of technology. For consumers, they are more concerned about these issues: Will plastic products become more and more expensive? Can they ensure that the environment is not polluted?

The perspective of the industry and the eyes of consumers seem to be distant, but in fact, they can be used as mutual annotations. So, how to interpret these achievements and prospects? Zhu Wenwei, acting chairman of China Plastics Processing Industry Association, accepted an exclusive interview with this newspaper.

What is the future of the plastics processing industry?

data to speak

In 2017, the plastics processing industry focused on promoting the supply-side structural reform, focusing on improving the quality and efficiency of the industry's development, insisting on innovation-driven, assisting the transformation of kinetic energy, and achieved fruitful results. So, what is the current status of this industry? Is there still room for development in the future? According to the introduction of Chairman Zhu Wenwei, we can sort out the following four characteristics:

The industry is developing rapidly and the company benefits are good: In 2017, the total output of the national plastic products industry was 75.1554 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.44%; 15,350 enterprises above designated size achieved a total of 2,280.836 billion yuan in main business income, a year-on-year increase of 6.74%; The main business income accounts for 9.41% of the light industry and 1.96% of the national industry.

The industry has developed smoothly, and the corporate benefits are also very considerable. The accumulated total profit is 135.468 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.81%; the total profit accounts for 8.52% of the light industry industry.

A game of chess across the country, the layout is more reasonable: plastic-related industries are mostly concentrated in the eastern region. In 2017, the output of plastic products in the ten eastern provinces and cities was 41.8105 million tons (accounting for 55.63%), a year-on-year increase of 2.61%. The output of plastic products in the six central provinces was 18.0656 million tons (accounting for 24.04%), with a year-on-year growth rate of 5.05%. The output of plastic products in the twelve western provinces and regions was 13.3894 million tons (accounting for 17.81%), with a year-on-year growth rate of 8.44%.

The import and export situation is gratifying: under the guidance of the "One Belt, One Road" policy, in 2017, the national plastic products industry achieved a combination of going out and coming in, with a cumulative export value of 62.729 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 8.62%, accounting for the export of light industry. The import value was 18.576 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7.22%, accounting for 11.42% of the light industry import value; the total import and export value was 81.305 billion US dollars, and the trade surplus was 44.153 billion US dollars.

Accelerated corporate integration: With the deepening of environmental protection and the impact of rising raw material prices and labor costs, some small and micro enterprises that cannot occupy the market with product innovation and quality function improvement are once again faced with the dilemma of being "shuffled" out of the market. However, large and medium-sized enterprises have the courage to innovate in difficult times, and the development momentum is good, showing the situation that the strong are getting stronger and the weak are getting weaker, and the industry transformation and enterprise integration are accelerating.

The stable industry, the normal operation of enterprises, the reasonable distribution of enterprises, and the smooth entry and exit have fully guaranteed the stable price of products. Consumers are concerned about the price of plastic products, which can be answered.

What are the new trends in the plastics industry?

Cleaner, more diverse, more standardized

Development always contains challenges. In 2017, the price of raw materials in the plastics industry rose sharply, the strictest environmental protection rectification, and the ban on waste. Zhu Wenwei said that colleagues in the plastics industry across the country rose to the challenge, actively forged ahead, further increased independent innovation, accelerated industrial upgrading and other measures to cope with the pressure of development, and achieved development and breakthroughs amid difficulties and challenges.

Environmental governance makes enterprises pay more attention to cleaner production:

This is probably a question that many people, especially consumers, are very concerned about. We enjoy the different life brought by plastics, but we are also worried that the large-scale use of plastics will bring about an environmental crisis.

According to Zhu Wenwei, since 2017, with the rise of environmental protection to the national strategic level, the national supervision on air pollution control and environmental protection has continued to increase, and the central and local environmental protection supervision of enterprises has become more and more frequent. In order to survive and develop better, the plastic products industry is gradually standardized, the awareness of environmental protection is enhanced, focus on cleaner production, pay more attention to the greening of products, and accelerate the pace of product transformation and upgrading.

Overcapacity is forcing product transformation and upgrading: Zhu Wenwei said that the problem of overcapacity in low-end products is still serious, and there are many similar general-purpose products on the market. Relatively small. The price war in the competition compresses the profit space, and causes the problem of low-quality and inferior products disrupting the market order. Enterprises in some industries are actively promoting automation transformation to improve the technological and quality level of products. For example, the modified plastics industry has changed from the pursuit of expanding production scale to seeking refinement and strength; it has shifted from making similar and general products to directional processing and personalized production. BOPET, BOPP, cast film and other industries are actively replacing imported products, expanding new product application fields, increasing the application of high-end products, and making differentiated products, personalized products and special products. The results are remarkable, and the industry has begun to recover.

Policies guide efforts to promote the development of related industries: "The state has promulgated new policies such as prohibiting the entry of foreign waste and promoting the reform of the solid waste import management system. Enterprises in the plastic recycling industry are gradually transforming into domestic waste plastic recycling and processing or setting up factories abroad. With the rapid development of the commercial industry, the logistics and express delivery industry has produced a large amount of 'white garbage'. The state requires express packaging bags to use biodegradable plastics, and a series of environmentally friendly materials that can be completely degraded under natural conditions, such as PHA bio-based degradable plastics, etc. It will usher in good development opportunities." Zhu Wenwei said.

As a major country in plastics production and processing, the plastics industry reflects the changes in the overall economic situation and affects the development of all walks of life. At the same time, it is more related to the lives of consumers.