Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Cardia Bioplastics Appoints Eco Ventures as its exclusive distributor for Brazil

Eco Ventures Do Brasil (Eco Ventures) will distribute Cardia's range of Biohybrid biodegradable and bio-sourced resins in Brazil.

The exclusive distribution agreement will allow Eco Ventures to supply the full range of Cardia Bioplastics sustainably sourced thermoplastic resins (Cardia Biohybrid) and also its biodegradable resins (Cardia Compostable) to Brazilian plastics industry. The growing demand for packaging that is both renewable and biodegradable is fuelling expansion of bioplastics and the broad range of applications for Cardia products places the company well in this growing market.

Cardia Bioplastics Managing Director Dr Frank Glatz:
"We are delighted to have this partnership with Eco Ventures do Brasil Ltd, the leading sustainable packaging and plastics products distributor in the Brazilian market. This is all part of our global expansion strategy. Growth for the sustainable resins market is driven by changing public attitudes and corresponding regulatory requirements. Another driver for sustainable packaging is the growing certainty that reduction in use of fossil fuels is coming closer. Packaging and plastics businesses know that eventually higher petroleum prices will erode their competitiveness and their profit margins, and they want packaging and bioplastics products solutions based on sustainable resources."

The Bioplastics market in Brazil is growing; consulting firm Frost and Sullivan predict that by 2015 the Brazilian Bioplastics market will be worth $618 million by 2015. Whether most of this value is generated from imports or exports (and therefore Cardia’s place in that market) remains to be seen. Polylactic acid (PLA) was the dominant bioplastic in Brazil during 2009. Brazil is the world’s leading sugar cane producer (PLA can be produced from sugar cane) and Brazilian investment in bioplastics development is expected to increase (35% by 2015, say Frost and Sullivan). It would be reasonable to expect that the leading producer of a common feedstock for bioplastics production will commercialize ways to produce bioplastics. This would cause demand from Brazilian customers for bioplastics from overseas to decrease in the future. The Brazilian Association of Compostable Biodegradable Polymers (ABICOM) has been set up to encourage changes in government policy to support the bioplastics industry in Brazil. If Cardia were to license a Brazilian company to produce their portfolio of resins, however, this might open doors for Cardia down the line.

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