San Jose, California -- The world market for polyols will reach 4.33 billion lb (1964 kilotonnes) by 2017, according to a new report by Global Industry Analysts.
Growing use as sweeteners in various sectors including food & confectionery, as well as industrial and pharmaceutical use, has led to an accelerated demand for polyols, as has high demand from emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Polyols find high tonnage use in industrial outlets, the most important of which is in the production of polyurethane. The global polyurethane market is witnessing the introduction of new products, highly influenced by the changing market trends for conventional products. Natural oil-based polyols (NOPs) constitutes one of the significant new arrivals in the market, hampering the growth of traditional petroleum products, GIA comments.
Heavy rises in petroleum prices form the principal reason for a decline in demand for commercial polyols. Renewable polyols, extracted from vegetables such as rapeseed, sunflower, and soybeans are witnessing increasing demand in most countries including the Eastern and Western Europe, the market analyst notes.
The developed US and European markets constitute two of the largest regions of polyol use, accounting for a substantial share in the global market. On the other hand, emerging markets such as China fuel growth in the Asia-Pacific market, slated to register rapid gains at a CAGR of about 3.8 percent over the analysis period.
Industrial applications represents the single largest end-use sector for polyols, with polyether polyols (PETP) and polyester polyols (PESP) finding high usage. Polyols are also increasingly used in other industries such as paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, microcellular elastomers and others.
Major players profiled in the report include BASF Polyurethanes, Bayer AG, Cargill Inc., Chemtura Corp., Corn Products U.S., Daicel Corp., Dow Chemical Co., Huntsman Corp., Lonza Microbial Control, Nanjing Hongbaoli Co. Ltd, Perstorp AB, Roquette Freres, Shell Chemicals Ltd, SINOPEC Shanghai Gaoqiao Co. and Stepan Co.
The report provides annual sales estimates and projections for the years 2009 through 2017 by volume (lb) for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Latin America. Key end-use segments analysed include, Industrial Applications, Food & Confectionery, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, Oral-Care Products, and Others. The study also provides historic data for an insight into market evolution over the period 2003 through 2008.
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