Global acetic acid market is expected to witness significant growth over the next six years owing to increasing use in industrial and household applications. Acetic acid is manufactured by methyl acetate and is one of the important chemical reagents. Acetic acid is used in manufacturing cellulose acetate and polyvinyl acetate, which finds application in production of fabrics and fibers. Increasing fibers demand in major end-use industries including automotive and defense is expected to drive the acetic acid market over the forecast period. Acetic acid also finds major usage in household as food additive and condiment. Growing food demand on account of increasing population is anticipated to have positive impact on synthetic adipic acid market over the next six years. Vinyl acetate monomer and PTA are the major application segments of acetic acid. Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) is primarily used in PET manufacturing. Growing PET demand in bottle packaging industry is expected to influence the acetic acid market over the next six years. South Asia is the major PET bottle market owing to growing demand from packaging industry. This trend is expected to drive the regional acetic acid market over the foreseeable period. Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is used in adhesives and sealant and is derivative product of acetic acid. Growing adhesives demand in construction and industrial process is anticipated to have positive impact on global acetic acid market over the foreseeable period. High fluctuation in methanol price which is important raw material for acetic acid has led to an uncertainty in acetic acid prices. This restraining factor is likely to hamper the market growth over the next six years. Acetate ester is the major application segment of acetic acid which is used as a solvent for inks, paints, and coatings. Growing paints and coatings demand in construction as well as in industrial process is likely to lift up acetic acid market over the forecast period.
Asia Pacific was the leading regional market in 2013, and the trend is expected to continue over the next six years. Rapid industrialization and growth in construction industry is expected to drive the regional market over the foreseeable period. Growing automotive industry has led to an increasing demand for sealants and adhesives. In addition cheap labour cost coupled with low prices raw material is expected to be the major factor driving the global acetic acid market over the next six years. Growing food additive demand on account of increasing population in India, Japan, and China is likely to propel the market growth in this region over the forecast period. Europe and North America acetic acid market was the second major market over the recent past. However, U.S. acetic acid market is expected to experience stagnant growth owing to stringent government regulation regarding use of synthetic products over the forecast period. Increasing environmental concern coupled with government support in form of tax benefits and subsidiaries over the use of bio-based products is likely to have negative impact on acetic acid market in Europe.
Global acetic acid is highly dominated by global players. The market is highly concentrated by large number of companies focusing on technological advancement. Some major companies operating in global market include Celanese Corporation, Jiangsu Sopo, British Petroleum, Eastman Chemicals, BASF, SABIC, DuPont, Petrochina, LyondellBasell, Yancon Cathay Chemicals among others.
