Eastern Europe to require more food & beverage processing equipment

JUNE 20--IMS Research (Wellingborough, UK; www.imsresearch.com) forecasts that the European market for food & beverage processing equipment will steadily increase to more than €9.2 billion by 2009, growing at around 4% per year. However, developing regions such as the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe are expected to register the strongest growth, with annual rates of around 6%.

So far, these regions have lagged Western Europe in consuming processed foods and beverages. Rapid development within these regions and increasing consumer incomes mean that the populations are demanding more processed foods and beverages, and this will help to develop the local market for processing equipment. Further, new EU member states are seeking to expand their food and beverage sales into the established and valuable Western European market.

Senior analyst and report author Don Tait commented, "EU membership by 10 Eastern European countries in May 2004 is having a positive impact on economic activity in these countries in general, and on their food processing needs in particular. For example, the food-processing industry in Poland is currently undergoing a period of modernization. New EU member states have had to modernize and upgrade facilities in order to meet EU standards."

Tait continues, "The use of faster and more automated food & beverage processing equipment within the industry can only be expected to rise to improve capital efficiency and reduce labor costs. Technical innovation is enticing producers to replace obsolete mechanical solutions with more versatile handling through robotics and more extensive use of PLCs, servos, and machine vision. Apart from higher output, this is offering greater flexibility and improved process control."

IMS Research is a supplier of market research on global electronics markets. Information from IMS Research is used by companies worldwide to assess market trends, solve marketing problems, and improve the efficiency of their businesses. IMS Research is an international company, selling in more than 35 countries around the world and supported by offices in Wellingborough, UK; Austin, TX, USA; and Shanghai, China.