The full-year performance of European aluminum foil companies reached an all-time high in 2021, with deliveries up 3.9% compared with 2020. According to data released on the website of the European Aluminum foil Association (EAFA), due to the continued recovery in demand for aluminum foil in the European region, demand increased to 967000 tons (931000 tons in 2020), an increase of 7.5 percent for the whole year and 12.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone.
Delivery of double-zero aluminum foil, mainly used for flexible packaging and household foil, continued the trend of strong growth in the third quarter of 2021, with an increase of 6 per cent in the past three months and 3.0 per cent for the whole year. Thick foil for semi-rigid containers, industrial technology or other applications also showed a strong trend in 2021, with demand growing by 7 per cent from October to December, accounting for nearly 6 per cent of the year.
2021 Europe's aluminum foil exports continued to decline, by almost 15 per cent, as the damaging effects of mass production and supply chains have not yet been fully mitigated. But these disadvantages were offset by an increase in delivery within Europe. Now, as COVID-19 has not been contained and the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine is expected to further adversely affect the supply of aluminum foil, supply shortages and soaring energy costs, the prices of most raw materials and commodities are likely to rise in 2022.
BrunoRea, chairman of the EAFA Calendering Enterprise Committee, expressed satisfaction with the development of the European market. "this is a series of strong data showing the elasticity of European demand." In 2021, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, it will have a negative impact on production and supply, among which there are still many challenges, at least energy costs will rise sharply, which will have a direct impact on all aluminum foil production business and will continue for some time. Considering the high price and obvious fluctuation of raw materials, it will bring uncertainty to the demand of our small and medium-sized customers. "
However, demand for aluminium foil in Europe remains strong enough to make up for the decline in exports. Although the decline in exports is disadvantageous, it is at least expected. " "We will have to wait and see how the war between Russia and Ukraine and the continuing epidemic will affect demand and supply patterns for aluminum foil in 2022," he added. However, the aluminum foil industry is generally optimistic about the future market prospects, and hopes that the aluminum foil industry can maintain the basic momentum of 2021. "
