Demand from Key End-Use Applications Accelerating Polypropylene Industry Growth

Wednesday 2 July 2014, Amsterdam

Polypropylene’s qualities make it ideal for use in a range of sectors, such as packaging, electrical, household appliances, and automotive. The packaging sector accounts for 30.5% of global polypropylene demand and is driven in turn by demand from developing Chinese and Indian markets. China is the second-largest packaging market in the world and has huge growth potential due to its low per-capita plastic consumption. India is also a lucrative market due to a growing population, low per-capita plastic consumption and industrializing economy.

The electrical sector also accounts for a significant share of demand with 13.6%, followed by equipment and facilities, household appliances, automotive, and construction. Together, they account for 51.1% of global polypropylene demand. Other sectors account for the remaining 18.4%.


China and Russia to Add the Most Capacity in the Next Five Years

China and Russia will be the leading contributors to polypropylene capacity in the future and will account for 45% of global capacity addition over the next five years. A demand-side push is driving capacity addition in China, forcing it to produce more domestic polypropylene, whereas in Russia, the main driver is the desire to diversify export revenue by investing in the petrochemicals sector. Most of Russia’s export revenue currently comes from the petroleum sector.

Venezuela and India will be the third and fourth-largest contributors to capacity over the next five years, and both are investing in the polypropylene sector to cater to the domestic market and replace imports.


Prices are Expected to Increase at a Steady Rate

Polypropylene prices are expected to grow at a steady rate over the next five years. The Middle East will remain the most economical polypropylene-producing region, but North America may surpass Europe as the most expensive place to buy polypropylene due to an ongoing supply shortage of propylene feedstock from ethane-based steam crackers, which produce negligible quantities of propylene.  

In South America and Asia-Pacific, the propylene industry is largely naphtha-based and so polypropylene prices in these regions are likely to remain high. They also have healthy demand for polypropylene and so a gradual price increase is likely to take place.