Global trade generally trended higher over the ten-year period, volume in 2025 at 5 million tons, up from 3.8 million tons in 2015. Key regional changes included much higher imports into Western Europe and North America, expanded exports out of Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe, and increased intra-regional trade within virtually all regions. As bags and sacks are an important end-use for PE polymer, trade flows are being impacted by the on-going the Middle East conflict, especially in Asia-Pacific.

Despite bans and other restrictions on PE bags and sacks in at least 100 countries (2018 UN Report), global trade in PE bags and sacks has grown. Demographics and rising living standards are among the many reasons for the increase. Another is the unintended outcome of bans on grocery store bags, which led consumers who reused them for garbage disposal to purchase other bags, often made from thicker plastic.

The sharp drop in 2023 reflected the US government imposition of punitive tariffs on bags from China, a major supplier.

The top importing regions throughout the period were Western Europe and North America, both with strong gains.

Asia-Pacific continued as the top exporting region. Shipments to all regions rose by 300,000 tons, with North America and Latin America accounting for ~200,000 tons of the increase. Exports from Eastern Europe, shipped almost entirely to Western Europe, expanded by nearly 260,000.

In addition to increased trade volume between regions, adding to rising global volume was the expansion in intra-regional trade in every world region with the exception of Africa.

In Asia-Pacific, severe shortages in PE polymer, particularly in Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, have forced producers to curtail bag production production and raise prices (Fortune; May 6, 2026).

From International Trader Publications’ PE Bag/Sacks World Trade Analysis, a continuously updated analysis of global trade based on latest statistics from all reporting countries.