Stretch film and shrink wrap in the UAE are the polyethylene films that hold pallet loads together for warehouse storage, trucking and container shipping, and that bundle drinks, building materials and consumer goods. This page lists UAE stretch film suppliers and explains cast versus blown film, pre-stretch, shrink film grades, summer storage, the UAE oxo-biodegradable rules and what drives price and supply.
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Stretch film is a thin, elastic polyethylene film wrapped around a load under tension, so it grips by recovery and cling with no heat. Shrink film is applied loosely and then heated in a tunnel or with a gun so it contracts tightly around the product. Both belong to the transit packaging covered on our industrial packaging page for the UAE, and in the UAE they are bought in volume by logistics operators in Jebel Ali Free Zone and Dubai South, FMCG and beverage plants in Dubai Industrial City and Sharjah, and building material producers in Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates.
| Grade | Typical UAE use | Points to specify |
|---|---|---|
| Machine cast stretch film | Turntable and rotary arm wrappers in distribution centres | Gauge in microns, roll width and weight, core size, pre-stretch level the machine runs |
| Machine blown stretch film | Sharp edged or irregular loads such as steel, tiles and machinery parts | Puncture resistance, cling level, holding force |
| Hand stretch film | Low volume wrapping, spare parts stores, small exporters | Gauge, roll weight a worker can handle, extended core or dispenser |
| Pre-stretched film | Hand or machine wrapping where film consumption per pallet matters | Applied gauge after pre-stretch, holding force per wrap |
| Coloured, opaque and UV stabilised film | Pallets stored outdoors, security of high value goods, colour coding | UV additive and rated outdoor life, opacity |
| Polyethylene shrink film and sleeves | Collating bottled water and drinks, bundling cement bags and blocks, shrink hoods | Thickness, shrink ratio in each direction, print, tunnel temperature |
| Polyolefin (POF) and PVC shrink film | Retail packs, cartons, printed goods | Clarity, seal strength, food contact certificate where it touches food |
Stretch film works with other unitising items: PET and steel strapping for heavy or shifting loads, corner boards, and the pallets and crates underneath. Wrapping machines themselves are listed under stretch wrapping machines.
Buy cast film for clean, square loads on machines and blown film for loads with sharp edges or where puncture is the usual failure. Lantech, a stretch wrapper maker, describes cast film as clearer, quieter to unwind and better at resisting tear propagation, and blown film as more puncture resistant with higher cling, and estimates that cast accounts for 70 to 80% of stretch film production.
Powered pre-stretch on a wrapper thins the film before it reaches the load, so less film is used per pallet. Lantech's example: a 65 gauge film pre-stretched 250% goes onto the load at about 26 gauge. What matters is the containment force the load needs to survive the trip, not the thickness on the roll. Ask the supplier to run trials on your real loads, then lock the wrap recipe (film, pre-stretch, number of wraps and overlap) and check it with a cut and weigh test. ASTM D8314, reapproved in 2025, is a guide for testing film performance after a wrapper has applied it, and is a useful reference when two suppliers argue about whose film holds better.
For shrink packs, the key property is how far the film shrinks in each direction at the tunnel temperature, which ASTM D2732 measures as unrestrained linear thermal shrinkage. Ask for shrink values at your tunnel temperature, not only at the laboratory reference.
Stretch film should be stored cool and indoors, and UAE summer conditions are well outside what film makers recommend. Polifilm, a European producer, advises 10 to 30 degrees Celsius at 25 to 60% relative humidity, away from UV and weather, no more than a year in storage, and at least 24 hours at the wrapping location before use.
Stretch and shrink film are not type approved products in the UAE, but two rules can apply: the federal oxo-biodegradable plastics requirement and food contact rules for film that touches food. Checked as of 2026; the oxo rule dates from 2012, so confirm current enforcement with MoIAT.
| Requirement | Applies to | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Oxo-biodegradable plastics rule, UAE Standard 5009 of 2009, ECAS registration | Disposable plastic packaging; the 2012 announcement named shrink wrap, pallet wrap and cling film | MoIAT (formerly ESMA), with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment |
| Food contact materials rules | Shrink and cling film in direct contact with food | MoIAT and emirate food authorities |
| ASTM D8314 | Performance testing of applied stretch film on loads | ASTM, voluntary |
| ASTM D2732 | Shrinkage of shrink film at set temperatures | ASTM, voluntary |
| Destination and carrier load securing rules | Export pallets, especially to Europe | Importing country and the shipping line |
Packaging Gateway reported in February 2012 that the then Ministry of Environment and Water had banned non-degradable disposable plastic packaging, naming shrink wrap and pallet wrap, and that ESMA would only issue ECAS registration certificates for oxo-biodegradable products made to UAE Standard 5009 of 2009 with additive from ESMA audited suppliers. Our parent page lists the current MoIAT decision. Ask film suppliers for their valid certificate and whether your film type is in scope before switching to a new source.
Most stretch film used in the UAE comes from GCC extruders and is sold through packaging distributors who hold stock in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Imported premium films are used where thin, high performance gauges or special grades are needed, usually through an authorised distributor.
Brands carried on ListGCC include Berry Global for machine and hand stretch film and shrink film; Manuli Stretch (Italy), a stretch film specialist with pre-stretched and thin gauge films; Trioplast (Sweden) for machine and hand stretch film; Signode, which pairs film with stretch wrappers and strapping; Sealed Air for shrink and protective packaging; and GCC producers Napco National and Zamil Plastic, both with stretch and shrink film ranges.
Ask suppliers for the film datasheet, a trial on your wrapper, roll dimensions that match your machine, and how much stock they hold in the UAE. If wrapping is part of a new line, our packaging machinery guide for GCC food plants covers wrapper acceptance tests, and the packaging machinery category lists line suppliers. To compare several film offers, post your requirement with your load types and monthly volume.
Polyethylene resin cost drives most of the price of stretch and shrink film, followed by gauge, film type and order volume. Because resin prices follow world markets, UAE film quotes usually have short validity.
Standard grades are normally held in UAE stock and delivered within days; printed shrink film and imported specialty films take longer because they need a production slot and shipping. Compare offers on cost per wrapped pallet, not price per kilogram.
