In 2008, the global production of ethyl acetate (ETAC) experienced a decline owing to the world economic recession. However, since 2009 the world ETAC production has followed a stable improvement trend; and from 2009 up to 2013 registered a positive increase. As of 2013, the worldwide ETAC market posted a 4% YoY increase and climbed to 3.2 million tonnes.
China made the largest contribution to the world ETAC production growth during 2009-2013. In 2013, Asia-Pacific called for 79% share of the global ETAC production with China alone providing nearly 55.47% of the global ETAC supply. It was followed by Europe and Latin America. In 2013, top five ETAC producing countries (China, India, the UK, Brazil and Japan) accounted for 83.29% of the world’s total supply.
ETAC: structure of the global production by country, 2013
Jiangmen Handsome Chemical Development, Wuxi Baichuan Chemical Industrial, Jiangsu Sopo (Group), Ineos, Shanghai Huayi Group, Shanghai Wujing Chemical Plant, Golden Yinmeng Group, Celanese, Jubilant Life Sciences Limited and Rhodia Brasil are amid the dominant companies active in the global ETAC market.
In 2013, the world annual capacities of ETAC production exceeded 5.48 million tonnes. In the same year, Asia-Pacific called for over 81% of the world’s total production capacities.
ETAC: structure of production capacities by region, 2013
As for world ETAC consumption, it witnessed stable positive growth from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, the overall ETAC consumption grew by 4% YoY and reached the 3.2 million tonnes mark. In the same year, Asia-Pacific held 70% of the world ETAC consumption. Europe ranked the second largest ETAC consumer in the world with a share of 15% of the total ETAC consumption. Other regions together held a 15% share. The production of solvents coatings is the major ETAC application area.
The world ETAC output is poised to grow by nearly 4.5% annually in the upcoming years. By 2018, the global ETAC production will likely reach 4 million tonnes. Asia-Pacific is expected to maintain its leading position in the market. Not many novel capacity introductions are scheduled for the next few years, however the capacity utilization rate in the existing facilities is predicted to increase in the years ahead.
More information on the ETAC market can be found in the research study “Ethyl Acetate (ETAC): 2014 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2018”.