A new agricultural conference called Agricultural Film 2008 is set to gather the agricultural and horticultural film industry to discuss the latest developments in markets and technology.

The show will take place at the Fira palace Hotel in Barcelona, Spain on 18-20 February. The location has been chosen because of the high concentration of farming using films in southern Europe, and increasingly in northern Africa.

In Europe, polyethylene holds by far and away the largest share of the film market, followed by PVC, PP and a small amount of other materials. In Japan and other parts of Asia, more PVC is used and the technology for producing wide films (two to three metres) is well established.

In contrast, Europe has developed extrusion blowing of wide polyethylene film (two to 20m). Recent developments in polymer materials include biodegradable materials and metallocene polyolefins, which allow the film gauge to be reduced. The film structure has a direct effect on crop yield and quality.

The deadline for sending offers of papers to Dr Sally Humphreys at sh@amiplastics.com is September 7 2007.

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