The mood among German plastic packaging producers remains good, the latest economic survey conducted by the country’s plastics packaging industry association Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK, Bad Homburg / Germany; www.kunststoffverpackungen.de) shows. Following a successful 2016, 70% of poll respondents rated the current overall economic situation as good, with 30% deeming it satisfactory. The association said the questionnaire had revealed optimism about Q1 2017 turnover and export developments, too.

Whereas in 2016, a third of companies polled anticipated a rise in packaging prices in Q1 (see Plasteurope.com of 11.01.2016), the latest poll shows that figure has risen to more than 50% of respondents. The increase will be necessitated by rising raw material costs, which players believe they will be able to pass on.

Sustainability continues to feature high on the industry’s agenda, the poll showed, with 80% of respondents saying they intend to invest in energy efficiency in 2017 and will work on improving their carbon footprint.

The positive news notwithstanding, the rise in energy taxes – embodied by Germany’s EEG Renewable Energies Law – will continue to negatively impact the segment, IK said, adding that the surcharge to finance renewable energy sources will reach a new record rate of 6.88 cents/kWh in 2017. Calling on the government to take the necessary action, IK general manager Ulf Kelterborn said, “It is high time that the planned economy subsidy model for renewable energies be replaced by a market-oriented policy.” In an exclusive interview with Plasteurope.com in mid-2016, Kelterborn put it bluntly: "I will only be content once the EEG is dismissed in its entirety" (for details, see Plasteurope.com of 14.06.2016).