Plastic production down 1.29% in Jan-Sep

Brazilian plastic production fell by 1.29% in the first nine months of 2012 compared with the same period last year, industry association Abiplast said. Production in September was 6% lower than in August this year, with plastic packaging production down 8.3%. The fall in September followed two consecutive months of increases in production. Plastic demand was 6% higher in the first nine months of the year, but 14% of this demand was met by imports. Brazil's trade deficit in plastics rose by 20.4% to US$1.6bn, Abiplast said. Demand slipped 5.5% from August to September. In the first nine months of the year, plastic laminates production slipped 7%.