A UAE firm says a sudden drop in prices of plastic packaging raw materials failed to dispel the gloom in the industry. 

In his comments on challenges facing the plastic packaging industry, Duplas Al Sharq general manager Mohammad Nofal said: “The major difficulty is the tremendous increase in the raw material prices starting from the beginning of last year leaving very little margin for the supplier. By last quarter there was a major sudden drop in raw material prices which resulted in loss to the industry since many companies were holding big stocks purchased at higher prices. Demand also dropped very sharply.” 
Nofal said the current economic slowdown has had an impact on the company’s business as it affected demand adversely.
Duplas is a subsidiary of Emirates Investment and Development (Emivest). The plant has an annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes and boasts the latest blow moulding and injection machines including eight-colour UV printing and in line labeling.
The company offers a wide product range and is engaged in manufacturing high-quality PE, PET and PC bottles and closures ranging from 200 ml up to 5 gallons. It serves increasing packaging demand in the lubricant, detergent, chemical, edible oil, dairy, juice and water industries in UAE and world markets.
“We are supplying to all major segments such as FMCG, lube oil, dairy, juice and bottled water. We have an impressive client list that features such international brands as Reckitt Benkiser, Adnoc and Al Rawabi.”
Ninety per cent of Duplas’output is consumed locally, said Nofal.