The world butanediol (BDO) production grew at a stable pace in the past several years. In 2010, it increased 9% YoY and went beyond 1.65 million tonnes. The highest growth was registered in the leading BDO producing region – Asia. The production of BDO in the region has increased by around 8-10% per year during past several years. In 2011, the overall BDO production increased by about 1 million tonnes and surpassed the 1.75 million tones mark. In the same year, Asia accounted for nearly half of the world’s total production volume. Meantime, China, the US, Germany, Taiwan and Japan were the top five BDO manufacturing countries; in 2011, their combined share was approximately 83% of the total BDO production.
Butanediol: world production broken down country, 2011
BASF, Dairen Chemical Corp, Ashland, Xinjiang Markor Chemical, Shanxi Sanwei, Lyondell Chemie Nederland BV, Nan Ya Plastics Corp, Blue Star Nanjing New Materials, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp, Henan Kaixiang Chemical, Sichuan Tianhua Fubang Chemical Industry, Gulf Advanced Chemical Industries and LyondellBasell Chemical are among the dominant players in the global BDO market.
In 2012, the world production capacity of BDO exceeded 2.36 million tonnes. In the same year, Asia-Pacific called for over half of the global total capacity. The three countries – China, the USA and Taiwan – had the highest BDO production capacities in the world.
Butanediol: world production capacities broken down by region, 2012
In 2011, the world BDO consumption increased by nearly 6% to reach nearly 1.76 million tonnes. Asia accounted for over half (55%) of the overall BDO consumption volume. It was followed by North America and Europe with shares of 25% and 19.5%, respectively.
In 2010, the global BDO foreign trade exceeded USD 1.67 billion in value terms. Europe was then the world’s leading BDO exporter and importer of the product.
The world BDO market has bright future. The demand for the product is already 15-35% higher than the supply. The global BDO production is forecast to increase by about 6% annually through 2017, exceeding the 2.49 million tonnes mark by the end of the forecast period. Asia is primed to maintain its leadership position in the overall BDO market in the oncoming years.
More information on the butanediol market can be found in the report “Butanediol (BDO): 2014 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2018”.