A recent report by analysts on business trends in South America has confirmed that in 2002 glass packaging went through a revival that could lead to a long term change from plastic to glass for beverage and food packaging. Across the continent, production of glass in 2002 increased by 7.2% compared with 2001 with glass imports also rising. The overall demand for containers increased as consumption of carbonated drinks and beer, along with mineral water and packaged food showed a growing demand, but packagers, faced with rising prices for imported plastic raw materials, turned to glass for cost reasons. Coca-Cola in South America also followed the trend by switching more production into glass bottles last year. The report estimates that in 2002, along with the rise in glass, aluminium packaging increased by 9% while plastics production fell by 10.5%.
