Asian demand to drive paper and paper chemicals market: GIA

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA (Commodity Online): Global paper and paper chemicals market is set to reach 65 mn tons by 2017 driven by increasing demand from developing markets, particularly Asia, and the increasing use of speciality chemicals, according to a new report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA).

Growth in the pulp and paper chemicals market is closely tied to pulp & paper manufacturing sector. With a broad spectrum of applications ranging from newspapers to packaging, printing and writing to newsprint, the pulp and paper industry is one of the largest worldwide. Though use of paper continues to face a decline in publishing due to the advent of Internet, the effect of this phenomenon is offset by the expanding use of paper in packaging and construction sectors.

Post recession, recovery in the overall pulp and paper chemicals market remains slow. Future growth in developed markets of Europe, North America and Japan is expected to remain modest, with these regions facing a hard time to catch up to the pre recession production levels. On the other hand, China, South East Asia, East Europe and Latin America are projected to gain strength, with China in particular expected to emerge as the growth engine for the global paper industry. The recovery in paper and pulp chemicals market is led by specialty chemicals segment which is expected to play a pivotal role in enhancing paper quality and performance characteristics. Further, the growing penetration of closed-loop water-circulation system is also facilitating the demand for specialty chemicals such as defoamers, retention chemicals, biocides and antiscalants.

As stated by the new market research report on Pulp and Paper Chemicals, Asia-Pacific continues to remain the largest regional market followed by the US. Asia-Pacific and Latin America comprise the most promising markets in terms of sales value as well as volume. Urged by high growth rates in China, India and the ASEAN countries, Asia-Pacific has emerged as a region with high potential in the pulp and paper chemicals market. Growth in population, improving literacy rates and a rise in standard of living are expected to drive economic growth in these regions. Demand in the mature markets of North America and Western Europe is expected to remain weak owing to the uncertain economic climate.

Major players in the marketplace include Akzo Nobel NV, Eka Chemicals, Ashland, Inc., BASF, Buckman Laboratories, Clariant, Cytec Industries, Enzymatic Deinking Technologies, ERCO Worldwide, FMC Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Chemicals LLC, Imerys, Kemira Chemicals, Nalco Holding Company, Omya, Solvay AG, and Solvay Chemicals, Inc.