Packaging machinery - global view

This very high level could not be achieved in 2022; where exports declined by 12 percent to 927 million euros. The Latin America and Africa regions each accounted for 6 percent of Germany’s foreign trade, the Middle East region for 3 percent and Australia-Oceania for 2 percent.

Market prospects in packaging machinery

In 2022, production in the specialist sector of food processing and packaging machinery increased to around 15.4 billion euros, according to provisional data from the German Federal Statistical Office. This corresponds to a year-on-year growth of 4 percent, meaning that the fourth-largest specialist branch of mechanical engineering exceeds the 2019 pre-Corona level of 15.3 billion euros.

The German packaging machinery sector - the largest exhibitor group at interpack - accounts for almost half of the industry sales. In 2022, production in Germany will increase by about 3 percent to 7.3 billion euros, according to the data available to date. The growth in production could have been even higher for packaging machinery compared to the overall mechanical engineering sector. However, the serious impact on the economy in 2022 was again the continuing disruption to supply chains, with the result that a significant proportion of orders from 2022 will not be converted into sales before 2023. Against this background and as a result of the war in Ukraine, exports in 2022 dropped by 4 percent below the previous year’s level.

USA remains the most important market

16 percent of German exports were shipped to North America in 2022. The USA, which has been the most important export market for packaging machinery manufacturers for many years, showed a sustained propensity to invest in 2020 and in 2021. German shipments to the United States rose by 17 and 15 percent respectively in the first two Corona years to an all-time high in 2021 of over 1 billion euros.

Globally, the demand for packaged food products is growing continuously. Growing populations, urbanization, increasing affluence in many emerging countries are factors which are increasing the demand for safe, shelf-stable packaged food and beverages. According to data from the British market research institute, Euromonitor International, sales will increase by 14 percent between 2021 and 2026 to around 5.3 billion tons. The growing market for pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products also represents a considerable potential for packaging machine manufacturers.

German companies are not the only ones to benefit from this. International trade in packaging machinery - taking into account the export data from 52 industrialized countries - has been rising continuously for years, reaching a record value of 23 billion euros in 2021. Germany is the strongest supplier country with a share of 26 percent, followed by Italy with 23 percent. Other supplier countries are China with 9 percent, Netherlands, USA, Switzerland, Spain, Japan and France with shares between 2 and 4 percent.

Despite ongoing difficult general conditions in 2022, German packaging machinery companies are optimistic about the future demand. According to an economic survey conducted by the VDMA, the industry expects a significantly stronger growth again in the year of interpack, which will be held in Düsseldorf from May 4 to 10, 2023.