This year’s “4th International Plastics, Rubber, Composites, Packaging and Conditioning Trade Fair for Morocco and North Africa” (plast expo, www.plast-expo.com), held in Casablanca / Morocco from 6-9 April, attracted some 2,881 visitors from 25 different countries. That constitutes a 40% increase over the last time the biannual event was held in Casablanca in 2009, say organisers Moroccan Plastics Federation (FMP, Casablanca; www.fmplasturgie.com), fairtrade (Heidelberg / Germany; www.fairtrade-messe.de) and Forum 7 (Casablanca / Morocco; www.agenceforum7.com).

All in all, some 136 exhibitors from 17 different countries showcased their latest innovations at the event – an increase of 34% over the 2009 event.

FMP chairman Mamoun Marrakchi said the rise in participants illustrated the event’s growing popularity. “The turnover of the plastics industry in Morocco has grown to more than EUR 1.2 bn in 2010, after 10 years of double-digit growth,” he said.

Plasteurope.com data indicate that Morocco’s Société Nationale d’Electrolyse et de Pétrochimie (SNEP, Mohammadia; www.snep.ma), a part of YNNA Holding (Casablanca / Morocco; www.ynna.ma), manufactures some 75,000 t/y of PVC in the country, with plans to double output by 2012. SNEP is the country's sole PVC manufacturer.