Bottled water consumption will overtake carbonates

Global packaged water consumption will reach over 233 billion litres in 2015, overtaking carbonates, which are expected to grow at a slower pace to around 227 billion litres, according to a new Canadean report. Back in 2010, the global population consumed only 170 billion litres of packaged water, compared to 215 billion litres of carbonates.

Fiona Baillie, analyst at Canadean, says, “The speed at which packaged water is growing is evident. Asia and west Europe already have packaged water consumption levels above those of carbonates and this year east Europe is set to join them.”

Canadean’s research also shows that it will be emerging countries that drive this trend in the future, while western countries with traditionally high packaged water consumption will be slipping down the growth rankings. Germany, Italy, France and Spain are forecast to see a compound annual growth rate of merely 1% between 2015 and 2020, compared to 21% in India, 12% in China and 8% in Brazil. However, the US is predicted to keep its second place ranking in terms of volume, as consumers continue to shift to packaged water consumption due to health concerns.

According to the report, China and India are predicted to account for around 50% of the world’s additional packaged water consumption in 2020, consuming a total of around 45 billion litres more than in 2015.

“With nearly one third of the world’s population residing in these countries, the impact is significant,” adds Baillie. “Packaged water is often necessary in areas susceptible to flooding or other natural occurrences, as these often lead to water contamination and the spread of diseases.”