The last three months of 2022 saw declines in the price of some flexible packaging materials, as demand stabilized amid continued uncertainty about the global economic outlook and energy costs. After the peaks mid of 2022, most substrate prices registered single digit declines, according to figures released recently by Flexible Packaging Europe (FPE).

Only 60 gsm one-sided coated paper bucked the downward trend, as it did in Q3, as the price increased 10 % from October to December, ending 2022 42 % higher than the previous year. The only material to register a double digit decline was 20 micron BOPP film, down 15 % on the preceding quarter. HDPE and LDPE fell 7 and 6 percent respectively, ending the year broadly the same as the end of 2021. Aluminium foil (7 micron) fell marginally by 3 %, but still 21 % ahead of December the year before. While both 12-micron PET (down 4 %) and 15 micron BOPA (down 3 %) films hover around 20 % above their 2021 levels.