Asia-Pacific holds vast potential for the growing oleochemicals market

Oleochemicals are widely used in many industries and it is personal care and soap & detergents that account for the largest segment, in products such as toothpaste, shaving cream, skin and hair care.

Fastest growing market​

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research, the global market for oleochemicals was estimated to be over 13 million tons in 2010 which is expected to reach 15 million tons by 2018, growing at a CAGR of around 6 percent from 2013 to 2018.

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market for oleochemicals, growing at a CAGR of 8.2 percent and also leads the global market with approximately 68 percent of the market share in 2011.

Asia Pacific also accounted for over 60 percent of the global capacity for oleochemicals in 2011. Europe was the second largest market with 18 percent of the global market for the same year.

Drivers and barriers​

According to the report, some of the major factors driving the global market of oleochemicals include the growing demand for environment friendly products and regulatory/government support for the production of oleochemicals.

Some of the factors acting as barriers to the growth of global oleochemicals market include poor utilization rates practiced in the industry and rising feedstock cost, especially in the European market.

“However huge opportunities lie in the Asia Pacific market owing to growing demand for oleochemicals in emerging countries like China and India,”​ says Transparency Markets Research.

“Malaysia and Indonesia are two countries where abundant raw material is available at cheap rates. Indonesia is also the largest producer of coconut oil, which is used as one of the major feedstock for producing oleochemicals.”​