Recent and current developments in the titanium dioxide market
In the formulation of paints and coatings, the white pigment titanium dioxide is an essential element. It is therefore no surprise that the industry is closely following developments in this area. The demand for TiO2 is projected to increase, as are the challenges surrounding the pigment, such as prices, regulatory burdens and concerns about sufficient availability. An overview.
The consumption of titanium dioxide in 2020 was about 6.45 million tonnes. With 56 % of this volume, 3.6 million tonnes, the paint and coatings industry is the main consumer of the white pigment. According to estimates by the market intelligence company Artikol, this volume increased to 7.25 million tonnes. However, these figures are only an estimate. The largest consumer is China with almost 40 % of the total volume.
Europe and North America are on a par with about 1 million tonnes and each have a 16 % share of total consumption. The other regions are in single digits: CIS (1 %), Middle East and Africa (4 %), Central and South Asia (5 %), Australia and Southeast Asia (6 %), rest of East Asia (5 %) and Latin America (7 %). This specialty chemical (in many different grades) is sold in commodity volume. The market is currently worth more than EUR 17.82 billion.
Per capita consumption the highest in Germany, the lowest in India
According to Artikol, the highest per capita consumption is in Germany. Here, a value of over 4 kg is determined. With just under 4 kg, the USA is in second place. Italy, Spain, France, and South Korea and Australia (in that order) are in a corridor of 2-3 kg per capita. Japan, Great Britain and Canada do not quite reach 2 kg. In China it is only 1.5 kg and in Poland even less. In the range of less than 1 kg per capita, Brazil is the frontrunner (0.9 kg). In Russia, consumption is 0.6 kg. India still offers considerable growth potential with 0.2 kg per capita consumption.
Demand will increase to 8 million tonnes by 2025
Artikol’s forecasts for the further development of the market refer to the year 2025, according to which global consumption is expected to grow to a volume of an estimated 8 million tonnes. The paint and coatings industry remains the largest consumer of titanium dioxide with 55 % or 4.42 million tonnes. TiO2 growth is highly correlated to growth in the global residential housing, commercial construction and packaging markets and consequently tracks GDP.
During the past 40 years, year-on-year world TiO2 pigment demand growth has been above 5 % in 12 years (including 2017) and negative in 12 years (including 2018 and 2019). The average growth rate in that time span from 1980 until 2020 was 3 % per annum.
A more detailed version of this analysis of the smart antimicrobials market can be found in European Coatings Journal 03/2022. The issue is available digitally at our online library 360°.
