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Plant-based polymers that require little land to produce their feedstock are likely to have an advantage over other materials, an expert in bioplastics told visitors to Interpack.

Dr Martin Patel, an assistant professor in the Department of Science, Technology and Society at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, has been commissioned to research potential growth in the biopolymer market by the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence and European Bioplastics.

Certified conclusions are due in the autumn, but initial predictions have shown that land dedicated to growing crops is set to increase from 60,000 hectares in 2007 to 1.16 million hectares by 2020.

Patel said: "Increased pressure on food stocks could mean a natural selection for those products requiring little land, but at the moment there is not an issue of bioplastics manufacturers taking away from the food chain."

Furthermore, bioplastics production will move away from Europe and the US, which currently have a 93% market share, to Asia-Pacific and Latin America. By 2020, Europe and the US will account for slightly more than half of the global capacity.

Also at Interpack, Australian firm Plantic introduced its new polymer grade, HP1, that is particularly suited to blister packs by improving impact resistance and clarity.

Plantic HP1 contains around 85% corn starch and, like the company's range of polymers, is available via DuPont following the agreement between the two companies announced last September.