Paper Chemicals Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Paper Chemicals Market size is forecast to reach $42 billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 3% during 2020-2025. Paper chemicals are a group of chemicals that are used for manufacturing paper along with enhancing the properties of paper. Increase in use of paper for packaging applications is augmenting the growth of paper chemicals market share during the forecast period. These chemicals alter the paper in many ways including its color, brightness, strength and resistance towards water. Moreover, increasing environmental concerns and usage of eco-friendly packaging materials is also driving the growth of paper chemicals market size during the forecast period.

The report: “Paper Chemicals Market – Forecast (2020-2025)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Paper Chemicals Industry.

By Chemical Type: Bleaching Chemicals (Sodium Dithionite, Ozone, Chlorine Dioxide, Hydrogen Peroxide, Others), Pulping Chemicals (Caustic Soda, Sodium Sulfide, Sulfurous Acid, Anthraquinone), Functional Chemicals (Dry Strength Additives, Wet Strength Additives, Sizing Agents, Coating Binders, Others) and Others

By Application: Packaging & Board (Cardboard, Paper Plates and Cups, Packaging sheets, others), Printing and Writing (Newspaper, Books & Magazines, Graphics Paper, Currency, Others), Hygiene Products, (Tissue Papers, Towels and Napkins, Diapers and Wipes, Others) and others

By Geography: North America, South America, Europe, APAC and RoW

Functional chemicals hold the largest share of more than 25% in the paper chemicals market in 2019. It consists of pigments, latex, coating binders, dyes, and additives. Functional chemicals are used to improve the properties of paper such as color, printability, water absorbency and strength which in turn propels the growth of paper chemicals market. Some of commonly used functional chemicals are sizing additives, retention agents, wet strength, and dry strength additives. Wet strength additives such as melamine, urea formaldehyde, and polyimines are used to increase the strength of paper in wet conditions whereas dry strength additives are used to ensure that paper will not lose its strength while undergoing tension or compression.

Based on the application, packaging and boards segment holds the largest share of more than 30% in paper chemicals market in 2019. Paper packaging includes rigid and flexible packaging. Increasing application of paper in food packaging products including paper plates, cups and carryout boxes is driving the growth of paper chemicals market. Packaging protects the product from abrasion and meets stringent safety, technical and hygienic requirements. Rise in demand for flexible paper packaging, owing to growing awareness regarding harmful effects of plastics on ecosystem is aiding the growth of paper chemicals market.

COVID-19 has badly impacted the paper chemicals market. The fear of getting affected by coronavirus has led people stuck in their houses. Companies are shuttered all around the world resulting decline in production and sales. Whereas, due to the economic crisis in 2020 the press industry has witnessed a tremendous loss. For instance, on order to overcome from the loss, the Indian Newspaper Association has written to Indian government seeking urgent interventions and assistance to keep newspaper industry on track. Moreover, lack of workforce and disruption of global supply chain along with newspaper demand subsequently hampering the growth of paper chemicals market.

Asia-Pacific has dominated the paper chemicals market with a share of more than 35% in 2019 followed by North America and Europe. Easy access of raw materials and presence of paper and pulp industries is driving the growth of paper chemical market in APAC region. According to environmental paper network (EPN), paper use is steadily increasing year on year and exceeded to 400 million tons per year in 2018. More than half of this is consumed by China, U.S and Japan whereas Africa accounts for only 2% of global paper use. Furthermore, rising population coupled with rapid industrialization is also boosting the growth of paper chemicals market in emerging economic nations like China and India.

Increase in disposable income coupled with high standard of living is escalating the use of paper for packaging which in turn boosts the growth of paper chemicals material market. Increase in use of papers for printing and writing applications has also fueled the market. According to Japan paper association total paper and paperboard demand for domestic applications such as tissue paper, newsprint, boxboard etc. reached to 26,581 thousand metric tons in 2017 in Japan. Rising health concerns and toxicity of plastic bags has also increased its use in food industries further augmenting the growth of paper chemicals market. 

Paper based products are ecofriendly and do not have any harmful effect on environment. Degradability and ease of recycling is driving the paper industry further augmenting the paper chemical market. Additionally, ban of plastic bags has increased the demand of paper bags in supermarkets and groceries stores. Government of many countries took major step for minimizing the use of plastic bags. For instance, California has introduced regulation known as SB270 in July 2015 for prohibiting use of plastic bags at groceries, pharmacies and other stores. In addition, In India, in 2018, the Tamil Nadu state government banned the use, sales, manufacture, storage and supply of plastics. Moreover, in February 2019, in European Parliament members were voted as 571-53 in favor of the single-use plastics ban like plastic cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers. In Africa, in May 2019, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Tanzania banned the importation, production, sale, and use of plastic bags. With this ban Tanzania become the 34th African country to ban plastic.

Deforestation to acquire raw material and release of dioxins during the manufacturing of papers hinders the growth of paper chemicals market. Exposure to dioxins may cause adverse heat issues including hormonal problems, infertility, cancer and diabetes. Additionally, the growing digital industry due to its cost effective and easy accessibility of data has decreased the use of papers. Furthermore government initiatives to minimize the use of paper has also hampered the paper chemicals market. For instance, Indian government’s initiative DigiLocker which is a cloud based digital locker to save documents online, thereby eliminating the use of physical documents. Also, the increase in use of digital platforms during coronavirus pandemic is a major challenge for paper chemicals market.

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the paper chemicals market report. In 2019, the market of paper chemicals 10 companies accounting for xx% of the share. Major players in the paper chemicals market industry outlook are, Kemira Oyj, BASF, Solenis, Ecolab, Ashland Inc., Harima Chemicals Group, Buckman Laboratories International Inc., Archroma, and Chemsystems, Dow Chemical Company, among others.