The global production of vinyl acetate (VAM) has witnessed stable growth after a sharp decline in 2008-2009. In 2012, the overall VAM output climbed to around 6.5 million tonnes, registering growth of nearly 4% (259,000 tonnes) YoY. Asia accounts for more than half of the global production capacity. The region’s VAM output was estimated at over 3.5 million tonnes in 2012.
VAM capacity broken down by region, 2012
China, the USA and Japan are the top three VAM manufacturing countries; their combined share of the world VAM output is equal to almost 62%.
VAM production by country, 2012
The world leading VAM consumers are Asia, Europe and North America; their total consumption of the product represents approximately 94% of the world consumption volume. Polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are the largest VAM end-use sectors, consuming around 89% of the overall VAM output.
Celanese, SINOPEC Corp., Dairen Chemical Corp, Dow Chemical Co, EI DuPont de Nemours & Co and International Vinyl Acetate Co (IVAC) are amid the most prominent participants of the worldwide VAM market.
The global VAM foreign trade has been on its way upwards after a considerable decline in 2009. In 2011, the overall value of the VAM foreign trade surpassed USD 2.05 billion. In the same year, Europe was the world dominant VAM exporter and importer. VAM imports prevail over exports in the region. In 2011, the value of the European VAN imports exceeded the exports value by USD 228 million. Asia holds the second position in the world market in terms of export and import volumes.
The worldwide VAM market is forecast to witness steady growth in the upcoming years, driven by constantly rising demand for the product along with the forthcoming planned VAM capacity additions. The overall VAM production volume is expected to exceed 7.1 million tonnes in 2015.
More information on the VAM market can be found in the report Vinyl Acetate (VAM): 2013 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2017.