Illustrative photo (Photo: sugar-asia.com) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Bioplastics Industry Association (TBIA) on February 24 announced that Thailand is now the world’s second-largest producer of bioplastic products thanks to plenty of raw material resources.
TBIA president Viboon Pungprasert said that Thailand’s production capacity is 95,000 tonnes each year and manufacturers plan to increase the capacity by 75,000 tonnes per year. The US is now the largest bioplastic producer in the world with a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes.
Viboon said that Thailand has a high potential for bioplastic production because the country has plenty of raw material resources from sugarcane and cassava.
TBIA aims to make Thailand a leader in producing and selling bioplastics in ASEAN, Viboon said, adding that the goal is in line with the country’s bio-economy development.
Currently, up to 90% of Thai bioplastic products are exported.
According to President of the Plastics Institute of Thailand (PIT) Veera Kwanlertchit, the production of environmentally friendly plastic products is beneficial to the country's plastic industry because it plays an important role in supporting other industries. Around 360 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally and plastic production is forecast to grow by 6% per year. Thailand currently produces about 9.5 million tonnes of plastic yearly./.
