Polyhydroxyalkanoate Market Trends

               Growth Drivers

• Adoption of PHAs in the Pharmaceutical Sector - PHAs have been discovered to work well in a variety of medical settings, including as anticancer agents, biocontrol agents, drug carriers, biodegradable implants, tissue engineering, and memory enhancers. The growing pharmaceutical sector is expected to propel the PHA market in the projected years. For instance, it was found that the total global pharmaceutical sales in 2018 reached around USD 973 billion, which further rose to nearly USD 1,187 billion in 2021.
• Worldwide Spike in Packaging Industry - Packaging is one of the most significant aspects addressed by manufacturers to maintain the aesthetic appeal of a product to consumers. The global packaging industry is rapidly expanding owing to a boost in the number of manufacturing units, food processing facilities, and industrial output. Therefore, a massive surge in the packaging industry is also anticipated to boost the market growth of the global polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) market during the forecast period. For instance, it was reported that the worldwide packaging sector expanded to a value of over USD 769 billion in 2020.
• Rising Government Initiatives to Reduce Non-Degradable Wastes - For instance, the plastic waste amendment rules, of 2021, by the Indian government forbid the use of single-use plastics with a thickness of 50 to 75 microns by 2022.
• Increased Production of Bioplastics – 2021 witnessed a 16% rise in the global production of bioplastics, reaching 2.5 million metric tons, and is expected to reach 7.7 million metric tons by 2026.
• Escalating Ratio of Flexible Packaging – For instance, currently, flexible packaging represents around 40% of packaging worldwide and around 21% in the United States.

Challenges

• Inflated Production Cost of PHAs – The exaggerated cost of PHAs makes them challenging to use in commercial applications. The cost has been related to the high-temperature sterilization, slow growth of microorganisms, discontinuous production processes, and complicated downstream processing.
• Unstable Material Properties
• Requirement for Advanced Manufacturing Technology