Paul Gaster

MEXICO CITY (Nov. 29, 12:30 p.m. ET) -- Brazil’s hosting of the Fifa World Cup soccer tournament in 2014 and the summer Olympic Games in 2016 will help drive growth in the country’s flexible packaging market in the next five years, according to a new study. The Central and South American Flexible Packaging Market to 2015 describes the Brazilian food industry as “modern” in relation to international standards, with 40 percent of the food bought by the population of 200 million sold through supermarkets. “That demand will only increase in the run up to global, high profile events, such

Europe’s converted flexible packaging market declined by 3 percent in value terms to around 10.4 billion euros in 2009, equivalent to 44.2 billion square meters of materials, according to a report from PCI Films Consulting. The decline in sales value was primarily associated with the fall in raw material costs, especially in the first half of the year, which was reflected in lower prices to customers. Contrary to some expectations, however, demand in area terms actually increased, albeit by a marginal 1 percent, as a result of real growth in a number of end use markets in both Western