Development Trends in Asian Corrugated Case Industry

Introduction. We meet and discuss this issue at an interesting time. Most countries are in midst of election. Some have already completed and many more are in process of electing new governments. Elections add a new dimension to predicting future trends in economy. The region in the recent past has been adversely affected with number of problems such as the south east Asian Financial crisis, SARS, Bird Flu, and of course the 9/11 Attack in USA had its impact in this region too, as the economies here are dependent on US markets to a large extent. However Asian region has shown resilience in bouncing back stronger from each crisis and maintained the upward growth. In this paper I am not looking at corrugated industry in isolation but also in the macro economics perception, as usage of corrugated is after all a part of the economic activity. This is also necessitated as the statistics collection for corrugated industry is not prevalent to the desired extent in this region. Hence dependence on the macroeconomic development will give us better insight as to where corrugated industry is headed. Asian region comprises of almost two thirds of the world population of 6.1 Billion. Also in terms of GDP by Purchasing power parity, Asia accounts for more than 40% of the world GPD, with Eleven countries in the list of top 25. Demographically Asian countries have a much younger population, for example in India 50% of the population is below 25 years of age. That translates into a huge potential for goods and services. While the developed economies have reached a plateau, and will soon come under the pressure of looking after aging population, the vibrant economies of Asia will continue to grow at a healthy pace. Also the regional cooperation moves by all countries in the region will give boost to intra region trade, giving further boost to the economies and will reduce dependence on the traditional markets in west. Also growing affluence will give boost to domestic consumption. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. United States China Japan India Germany France United Kingdom Italy Russia Brazil Korea, South Canada $10.45 trillion $5.989 trillion $3.651 trillion $2.664 trillion $2.16 trillion $1.558 trillion $1.528 trillion $1.455 trillion $1.409 trillion $1.376 trillion $941.5 billion $934.1 billion

13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Mexico Spain Indonesia Australia Turkey Iran Thailand Netherlands South Africa Taiwan Argentina Philippines Poland

$924.4 billion $850.7 billion $714.2 billion $525.5 billion $489.7 billion $458.3 billion $445.8 billion $437.8 billion $427.7 billion $406 billion $403.8 billion $379.7 billion $373.2 billion $19.8 Trillion $ 48.51 Trillion 40.8%

Asian Total World Total Asian Share Global Packaging Trends

As per certain sources, the global packaging industry has an annual turnover of in excess of USD 600,000 million, with Asia-Pacific accounting for over 40% of the annual packaging sales. Packaging industry gainfully employees over 5 million people, in over a 100,000 companies. The industry ranks among the top 10 most important industries. It has been estimated that over 1,500 million tonnes of packaging material is consumed annually in the world. Paper and paperboard continue to account for the largest share of about 35% followed by glass (27%) plastics (25%) and metals (11%). The most interesting thing about this consumption pattern is its dynamism. It has been observed that there is constant inter material shift depending on the benefits being offered by the continuous developments and innovations in packaging media Innovations in Packaging Innovations in packaging are driven by various factors. The key factor is distribution of goods, without compromising on the quality or the quantity, to large number of people scattered all over the globe. The question is, what would drive the future innovation. I feel that there is not one but lots of factors that will impact the way products are packaged and distributed. There is a clear indication that Demographics will play a leading role as far as packaging innovations are concerned. We are witnessing changes in the family structures; the population profile is also rapidly changing with higher number of aging people. Besides consumers are today, demanding a wider range of products and greater segmentation (by size, flavour, etc) within those products. Convenience / quick

preparation foods, providing smaller/single serve portions are also growing in demand. There is also a movement away from Loose to packed commodities, from unbranded to branded. Electronic business process/ information transfers will eventually link the entire supply chain starting at Raw material suppliers, Packaging manufacturers, Packaging users, Retailers and the consumers. This will provide immediate and accurate information, reduce cost and time delays, simplify logistics and inventory operations and provide a better response to consumer demands. Besides, all companies in the supply chain are under constant pressure to drive down production costs, including cost of packaging. Technological advances in printing mean that packaging industry can now create personalized, individual products in full colour at high speeds with minimum of notice meant for specific market. MODERN PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY Reflects mastery of technological achievements. Preserves quality of life and health Provides orderly and economic distribution of product Essential component in moving goods from point of origin to point of consumption Adds value to the product

Corrugated Packaging
Within the packaging segment, Corrugated Packaging is beyond doubt the largest industry by tonnage and also value. World wide corrugated industry produces more than 140,000 Million Sq meters, of which Asia accounts for a handsome 35%. While Western world is showing reduction in corrugated production, maybe due to outsourcing of manufactured product from Asia, Asian Economies are showing growths of upto 10%. This is resulting in the share of Asia growing in the industry. With the economic development gathering pace across Asia corrugated industry in bound to grow. Increase in real income within the region will boost demand for products and will result in more corrugated used for domestic consumption. Within Asia, Japan has been the leader in corrugated industry both in terms of volumes and also technology. Of late China has overtaken to occupy the number one slot.

Asian countries show a mix of technological advancement. While Japan at one end is very advanced, other countries driven by larger volumes and also need for consistent quality, better graphics, JIT, etc are adopting advanced technology more and more. However, abundant availability of manpower, lower cost of wages and higher cost of Capital in many countries will ensure that the Semiautomatic operations will continue for quite some time. With the GDP in most countries in the region growing at 5-10%, and domestic demand beginning to take off, demand for corrugated will at least be maintained at the current 6% level, but in my opinion will be more. China Chinas fourth generation of leaders, headed by Hu Jintao, the president, and Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, has settled in and begun to consolidate power. Mr Wen has announced that the government will focus greater resources on the countryside, which remains far poorer than the booming cities on the coast. At the same time, the government is seeking to cool off blistering economic growth in the private sector without causing a crash, a difficult balancing act. Growth is nonetheless expected to be tremendous in 2004 GDP to expand by 8.5%.In 2002 exports were worth US$325.7bn. The strong growth in GDP and continued focus on exports will ensure that the growth rates of 10% plus will be maintained in the medium term as well. Within a short period of time China has become a force to reckon with in the corrugated case industry. GDP per head ($ at PPP) GDP (% real change pa) Government consumption (% of GDP) Budget balance (% of GDP) Consumer prices (% change pa; av) Public debt (% of GDP) Labour costs per hour (USD) Recorded unemployment (%) Current-account balance/GDP Foreign-exchange reserves (m$) 1999 2000 2001 2002 3,651 3,980 4,330 4,690 7.14 7.95 7.3 8.01 12.57 13.1 13.2 13.4 -2.11 -2.79 -2.55 -3.03 -1.48 0.35 0.73 -0.77 6.14 8.58 10.43 13.16 0.53 0.59 0.69 0.8 7.4 8.2 9.3 9 2.11 1.9 1.46 2.86 157,728 168,278 215,605 291,128

Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the major paper producing countries and one of few countries in region blessed by nature with bountiful forest coverage, with potential to be the main source of paper supply in the region.

Indonesia is in midst of elections. There will be few economic policy initiatives until after the election period. Real GDP growth is expected to strengthen in 2004 in line with stronger OECD export demand and election-related spending, but is forecast to weaken slightly in 2005. Indonesia was one of the worst affected countries by the financial crisis, compounded by political instability. However the economy, of late has rebounded, and corrugated industry in well on path of progress. Corrugation industry in Indonesia is pretty large with out put of 1.78 Million tons in 2003 showing a growth of 5.5%. GDP per head ($ at PPP) GDP (% real change pa) Government consumption (% of GDP) Budget balance (% of GDP) Consumer prices (% change pa; av) Public debt (% of GDP) Labour costs per hour (USD) Recorded unemployment (%) Current-account balance/GDP Foreign-exchange reserves (m$) Major exports 2002 Textiles & garments Crude petroleum & Products Liquefied natural gas Wood & products % of total 11.9 11.0 10.4 5.2 1999 2,898 0.76 6.57 -1.12 20.48 45 0.23 17.5 4.11 26,445 2000 3,055 4.93 7.08 -2.9 3.69 45.6 0.27 13 5.25 29,390 2001 3,200 3.46 7.83 -3.3 11.5 50.5 0.28 8.1 4.88 27,246 2002 3,320 3.64 8.21 -1.5 11.88 47.6 0.37 10.3 4.2 30,501 % of total 27.5 21.0 16.9 13.6

Major imports 2002 Machinery & transport equipment Fuel & lubricants Chemicals Manufactures

Development Trends in the Corrugated Case Industry of Japan

GDP per head ($ at PPP) GDP (% real change pa) Government consumption (% of GDP) Budget balance (% of GDP) Consumer prices (% change pa; av) Public debt (% of GDP) Labour costs per hour (USD) Recorded unemployment (%) Current-account balance/GDP Foreign-exchange reserves (bn$) 1999 24,895 0.16 16.28 -7.1 -0.34 115.79 20.89 4.68 2.56 286 2000 25,966 2.13 16.81 -7.4 -0.67 123.46 22 4.72 2.53 354 2001 26,660 0.82 17.38 -7.1 -0.73 132.78 19.59 5.03 2.11 395 2002 27,080 0.47 17.87 -8.6 -0.92 145.9 18.63 5.38 2.83 461

Japan is the most developed economy in the region and is a league apart from the other countries. Japans immediate economic outlook remains upbeat. It is predicted that GDP will grow by 2.8% in 2004 and 1.3% in 2005 and 2006, with

prices falling by 0.4% in 2004, 0.3% in 2005 and 0.2% in 2006. The sluggish Japanese economy of the past several years has begun to clearly show vigorous manufacturing activity, recovery of corporate profits and an increase in spending for new plants and equipment, which prompted the announcement of economic recovery by the Japanese government in January 2004. Corrugated production in 2003 reached the 13,399 million m 2 mark, up 100.5% from the previous year. The Japan Corrugated Case Association (or JCCA) projects 2004 production to reach 13,611 million m 2, up 101.6% from 2003. Projections if reached will be historic, exceeding the 1997 record of 13,500 million m2. Demand for corrugated cases in 2003 turned negative in the fresh vegetable and fruit category due to the unusually cool summer as well as in the textile fabric category due to continuing import increases. Yet all other categories turned positive, including the processed food category that continues with new canned/PET bottled drink developments, and the electric appliances and machinery category that enjoys strong demand in LCD/plasma TVs and other digital products. 477 corrugators (single face 74, single wall 77, double wall 314 and triple wall 21) are in operation as of the end of December 2003. Among these corrugators, 70.6% operate in single shift of 8 hours and 29.1% operate in double shift of 16 hours. This condition is expected to have an annual production capacity of 13,750 million m2, which matches our projections. But it is inherently excessive equipment. Containerboard prices increased about 40% in December 2001 due to a rebounding price decrease due to excess capacity and about 15% in October 2003 due to an increase in the price of OCC, respectively. As companies in the corrugated industry have made individual efforts to correct their product prices in the last 18 months, they achieved most of their goal by March 2004. The recycling rate of OCC* reached 1,005.4% in 2003. Our survey shows that about 8-10% of OCC was assumed to have come from import product packaging because Japan imports more than it exports. * OCC received at containerboard plants / Containerboard consumed at corrugated plants.

The Development Trend of the Malaysian Corrugated Case Industry

Malaysia is one country which has withstood the travails of the various problems affecting the region and has made transition from agrarian economy to Manufacturing. With high percentage of manufactured exports and good domestic demand, the corrugated industry is slated to post handsome growth. The industry in 2003 produced 1050 M Sq Meters of boxes showing a growth of more than 8%. The trend in view of strong economic activity is likely to continue.
Annual data Population (m) 2002 24.5 Historical averages (%) Population growth 1998-2002 2.5

GDP (US$ m; market exchange rate) GDP (US$ m; PPP) GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) Exchange rate (av) M$:US$ Major exports 2002 Electronic equipment & parts Semiconductors Consumer electrical products Industrial electrical products Chemicals & chemical products % of total 21.5 19.1 7.1 5.1 4.5

94,910 154,900 3,869 6,315 3.8

Real GDP growth Real domestic demand growth Inflation Current-account balance/GDP FDI inflows/GDP

2.2 -1.0 2.5 10.9 3.2

Major imports 2002 Intermediate goods Machinery, excl transport equip. Consumption goods Imports for re-exports Transport equipment

% of total 71.3 13.4 6.3 2 1.7

Fourth-quarter 2003 GDP data, released in February, were very strong. Full-year growth in 2003 is now estimated at 5.2%. Owing to the strong end-2003 performance, GDP growth in 2004 is expected to be 5.6%. 1. The introduction of e-bidding or reverse auction in 2002 has drastically affected the local corrugated industry. Market prices were forced down by over 30%. Its continuous presence in Malaysia poses a great threat to the industry. 2. The reduction of import duty from 10% to 5% under AFTA has seen an increase in imports of paper from ASEAN countries particularly from Thailand and Indonesia. 3. Multinational companies in Malaysia are requesting for better printing including processed print and tighter tolerances.

Philippines
Philippines has shown considerable growth in the past and due to large remittance of money by Expatriate workers and high percentage of manufactured exports, has a robust economy with good growth potential. The corrugated market is about 1000 MSqM and is growing at 3%.
Annual data Population (m) GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate) GDP (US$ bn; PPP) GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) Exchange rate (av) P:US$ 2002 83.0 78.0 339.2 939 4,086 51.6 Historical averages (%) Population growth Real GDP growth Real domestic demand growth Inflation Current-account balance/GDP FDI inflows/GDP 1998-2002 2.0 3.2 2.5 6.0 5.5 2.1

Exports totaled US$34.4bn and imports US$34bn. High percentage of manufactured goods translates in good demand for corrugated packaging.
Major exports 2002 Electrical & electronic equipment % of total 53.4 Major imports 2002 Semi-processed raw materials % of total 32.6

Machinery & transport equipment Garments Coconut products Chemicals

20.3 6.8 1.4 1.0

Telecoms & electrical equipment Parts for manufacture of electrical equipment Chemicals Crude petroleum

20.0 14.9 7.0 6.2

The outlook for the Philippines will remain very uncertain until the result of the May 10th 2004 presidential election is known. GDP growth will be relatively strong in both 2004 and 2005.

South Korea
Another country badly mauled by the financial crisis of 97, has shown considerable resilience, and rebounded with vengeance. Industrial output grew by 7.7% year on year in 2003. This robust performance was largely export-driven and, if sustained, should support a gradual recovery in corporate sentiment in 2004. The corrugated industry is estimated to produce 2700 MSqM of Board and should post handsome growth this year on the strength of strong Industrial and export activity.
Annual data Population (m) GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate) GDP (US$ bn; PPP) GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) Exchange rate (av) W:US$ 2002 47.6 476.4 815.2 10,000 17,111 1,251.1 Historical averages (%) Population growth Real GDP growth Real domestic demand growth Inflation Current-account balance/GDP FDI inflows/GDP 1998-2002 0.7 4.4 1.5 3.5 4.9 1.5

What is going on Thai Corrugated Box Industry?

Real GDP growth is expected to rise to 7.7% in 2004, fuelled by strong domestic demand and a recovery in OECD demand for exports. Strong fourth-quarter 2003 GDP data suggest that considerable momentum will be carried into early 2004, despite the negative impact of bird flu on consumer confidence and exports. We therefore continue to expect real GDP growth of 7.7% in 2004. GDP per head ($ at PPP) GDP (% real change pa) Government consumption (% of GDP) Budget balance (% of GDP) Consumer prices (% change pa; av) Public debt (% of GDP) Labour costs per hour (USD) Recorded unemployment (%) Current-account balance/GDP Foreign-exchange reserves (m$)
Major exports 2002 % of total

1999 6,094 4.45 11.5 -2.59 0.31 52.21 1.16 4.2 10.14 34,063

2000 2001 6,349 6,565 4.65 1.94 11.39 11.57 -2.2 -2.59 1.55 1.66 54.87 53.36 1.12 1.04 3.6 3.3 7.6 5.4 32,016 32,355

2002 6,920 5.22 11.2 -1.4 0.6 58.8 1.12 2.4 6 38,046

Major imports 2002

% of total

Machinery & mechanical appliances Electrical apparatus for circuits Computers & parts Electrical appliances

13.4 12.9 10.6 8.2

Electrical machinery Fuel & lubricants Non-electronic machinery Base metals

12.4 11.5 10.1 7.2

Packaging in Thailand is significantly growing in 2004. This is resulting from developments in food processing, growing importance of design and appearance of products, and growing importance of requirements set by export markets. Thailands demand for corrugated box is estimated 1,450,000 tons (2250MSqM) with growth at more than 10%. Growth of the economy, growing purchasing power, and changing lifestyles, tastes and preferences, are all major sources of this increasing demand. In other words, the major motivating factor is attributable to stronger domestic demand from both government and private sectors, while exports are likely to be limited by the weaker global economy. Even though there is a good opportunity for IT and electronic industry, Thai exports growth rate has been expected to reduce sharply from 18.6% in 2003 to 12% in 2004 as a result of economic expansion in United States and region, as Thais potent competitors. Furthermore, this declining export rate also impacts from Avian Flu and the United States anti dumping on shrimp which both chicken and shrimp are always playing a major role on Thai export market. Owing to progressively intensive global competition including the unavoidable troubles as above, to improve Thailands competitiveness, the government tackles this challenging task by clustering strategy. Within the part of packaging industry, the publication industry has been organized FTI clustering consisting of the board and executive committees from pulp and publication industry. The panel objective of this clustering is to: Recommend strategy in order to create value, sustain and increase competitiveness Promote partnership between government and private sector. Research and development HRM: Build creative, artist, printing specialists. Etc. Moreover, the Thai government has actively supported the development of the industry through subsidies, pro-cash crop and plantation policies, tax relief and favorable import duties on machinery imports. Recently, E-auction service has been becoming as a new choice for price -based purchasing decision. However, as long as cost remains a major factor in making purchasing decisions, suppliers can no longer avoid accepting this new purchasing method.

Taiwan
Taiwan is another developed economy in the region. With a production of about 2000 MSqM of Corrugated is facing challenges of outsourcing. Many consumer

and Consumer durable plants have relocated in low cost China leading to reduction in demand for Corrugated Boxes. Demand is shrinking by about 1.8% annually inspite of GDP growing at a healthy pace of 3.5%.
GDP per head ($ at PPP) GDP (% real change pa) Government consumption (% of GDP) Budget balance (% of GDP) Consumer prices (% change pa; av) Public debt (% of GDP) Labour costs per hour (USD) Recorded unemployment (%) Current-account balance/GDP Foreign-exchange reserves (B$) 1999 21,200 5.42 13.15 -5.94 0.18 23.71 5.51 2.93 2.91 106 2000 22,740 5.86 12.9 -4.49 1.25 26.67 5.85 2.99 2.88 106 2001 22,590 -2.18 13.05 -6.65 -0.01 26.93 5.7 4.58 6.37 122 2002 23,420 3.55 12.56 -6.6 -0.2 29.8 5.58 5.16 9.14 161

Indian Economy- The Juggernaut Moves. India is a maturing economy with the share of Services increasing and Share of industry remaining constant in the total GDP, while agriculture though growing has been loosing its position in contribution to GDP. The Indian economy has been maintaining a robust growth of over 5% over the last 9 years, since the process of liberalization was started. Also the service sector is doing very well with India achieving pre-eminent position in Software sector. India is aiming to maintain GDP growth of over 10% in order to become a force to reckon with in the near future. Exports have been rising significantly and contributing to the GDP in greater measure. There is today a sizable population of those who, by Indian standards, could be said to very rich and there is also the mobility of the people graduating from lower income levels to higher ones. The media boom has increased the aspirations of the people. Rising Disposable incomes, Changing tastes and preferences, rural urban migration and a general awareness has become instrumental in changing the lifestyles of the people and is fast blurring the rural urban divide. Therefore while Urban India is catching up with the west, the Rural India is catching up with the Urban Indian in its own way. GDP per head ($ at PPP) GDP (% real change pa) Government consumption (% of GDP) Budget balance (% of GDP) Consumer prices (% change pa; av) Public debt (% of GDP) Labour costs per hour (USD) Recorded unemployment (%) 1999 2,260 7.14 12.96 -5.48 4.68 52.71 0.56 9.2 2000 2,360 3.95 12.85 -5.28 4.01 56.52 0.59 9.17 2001 2,510 5.46 12.85 -4.7 3.68 57.31 0.62 9.2 2002 2,610 4.3 13.2 -5.9 4.39 61.6 0.66 9.3

Current-account balance/GDP Foreign-exchange reserves (m$)

-0.73 -0.93 32,667 37,902

0 45,871

1 67,666

Foreign trade A strong rise in exports, especially for gems and Jewellery, caused the trade deficit to contract slightly in 2002 to US$12.4bn from US$12.8bn in 2001. Goods exports in 2002 rose by 16.1% in balance-of-payments terms, and imports increased by 12.1%. Major exports 2002 Textiles & garments Gems & Jewellery Agricultural products % of total 22.7 18.1 12.9 Major imports 2002 Basic manufactures Petroleum & petroleum products Machines & transport equipment % of total 43.0 31.3 13.7

Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister, and the coalition led by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are still expected to do well in the multi-stage general election beginning on April 20th. Economic growth should continue, buoyed by external demand and GDP will grow by 7.3% in 2004, 7.5% in 2005, and 7.1% in 2006. Tax collection is up 48% from the same period last year, making it to reduce India's budget deficit to 4.8% of GDP. The growth will be propelled mainly by the booming service sector, which is getting a boost from back office outsourcing from rich countries.
Population (m) GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate) GDP (US$ bn; PPP) GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate) GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity) Exchange rate (av) Rs: US$ 1,046(b) 505.8 2,727(b) 480 2,610 48.6(c) Population growth Real GDP growth Real domestic demand growth Inflation Current-account balance/GDP FDI inflows/GDP 1.6 5.4 5.5 5.9 -0.3 0.8

Packaging in India. Indian corrugated industry being fragmented; collection of data is impossible task. Indian Corrugated Box Industry by conservative estimates produces over 1.8- 2 million tones of boxes and is growing at over 10-12% currently, well above the industrial growth. With anticipated increase in industrial growth and also due to growing consumerism, the rate of growth of corrugated industry is set for much higher rate in the coming years. The Corrugated Box Industry is very much distributed across the country. There are nearly 5000 box manufacturers in the country, employing about 7000 single facers of 1000-1800 mm width. The industry employs more than 150,000 persons. Bulk of the paper is made indigenously with imports accounting for less than 2%. However with reduction in Import duties to 20% and slated to slide further soon , Imports will be viable now and increase in share of better quality imported paper should have its impact on the design and cost soon.

Future Prospects: The future for the corrugated industry holds both opportunities and challenges. As already mentioned rapid growth in consumerism and industrialization will lead to increasing demands for the corrugated packaging. We expect the growth to be in the region of 12-15% in the next 5 years. The corrugated box industry in now placed under smallscale sector, which places a cap of INR 10 Million in production plant and machinery. This has been one of the contributing factors for the mushroom growth in the number of box plants in the country. However, due to changing market scenario, the way corrugated box business has been done till now is set for quantum change. In tune with the ongoing liberalization policy of government, the reservation for small-scale sector is being gradually phased out and the cap on investment is likely to be removed soon. This will make it possible to invest in large plants, which not only will enjoy advantages of economies of scale, but will also be able to effect vast improvements in quality. Quality perception is fast undergoing change in the market. Corrugated box is more and more being perceived as value addition as against unnecessary cost addition till now. Graphics are fast becoming more complex and intricate. The high tech plants will only be viable provided customers pay extra value for quality improvements. Massive investments will be needed for meeting the changed quality requirements, particularly in the graphics side. On the commercial side one major development is the supply source reduction across all sectors of industry. With the consolidation of orders box makers are getting benefit of economies of scale. This will not only reduce the costs for customers but also accelerate the process of automation, which needs larger volumes to be viable. On the negative side E Bidding is pushing down prices and creating unfair competition. The Govt has initiated several steps to boost the economy. Interest rates are coming down. More money is made available through the banking channel. It is expected that the pace of liberalization will be speeded up to attract more investment from private sector, both domestic and foreign. The Introduction of State VAT system in place of the regressive Sales tax will make the business scene more congenial and will also reduce costs of Exports. This will enable and motivate the Indian businesses to look out ward and to increase capacity utilization by more exports. If more products get exported it automatically means more corrugated packaging requirements.

Conclusion
Asian is the happening place for corrugated industry for next decade. But that does not mean life is a bed of roses. All in all, from the consideration on demand and supply side, to survive in this difficult dynamic market is not just simply

through raising prices as it has been in the past, but improving the value of product for customers. Corrugators should be focusing on product innovation, which will reduce costs and give corrugated packaging a higher perceived value to buyers. Container is no longer only a container; also it must be elaborately customized to customers sophisticated mind to be one of the marketing strategic factors. Growing environmental awareness, speeding up of new developments, up scaling of production facilities and import tariffs are key factors influencing future competition. The sheer size and the consolidation of customers world-wide (Unilever, Heinz, Procter and Gamble etc.) make it mandatory that our industry has to find unity at various levels. Among these are standards, such as technical standards. A very example is adoption of common foot print cartons for fruits and vegetables. Another area is the Good Manufacturing Practices in the production of corrugated. If we as an industry cannot agree to unite behind one common approach we will be confronted with customer specific requirements that will make life unduly expensive and miserable. We need to unite to evolve a common code of conduct at national level as well as global. Towards this end, Asian Corrugated Case association will act as a conduit and along with ICCA will try to galvanize member country associations to move in this direction. I use this forum to call on all countries in Asia to support ACCA by becoming members.