Updated profile of the Central Asian paint industry published
According to a new study by IRL, the total market for paints and coatings in Central Asia was over 271 thousand tonnes in 2013, and is forecast to rise to more than 307.9 thousand tonnes by 2018.
This is equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 2.6%.
Majority is represented by architectural paints
On a country-by-country basis, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the two largest consumers of paints and coatings in the region, with almost equal demand for these products, estimated at 43% and 41% of the total Central Asian paints demand, respectively. As the majority of the markets is represented by architectural paints, their evolution depends to a great extent on the fortunes of the local construction industries. Notably, underpinned by the growth in the construction sector, the Kazakhstani paints and coatings market will be growing at a slow pace and the Uzbekistani market will reveal higher growth rates.
Turkmenistan is attractive for investors
Out of the smaller countries, Turkmenistan is the most attractive market for investors due to low levels of competition and fast growing downstream industries; and Tajikistan is the least attractive market for paint suppliers, attributable to high logistics costs associated with the transportation of the products to the region and low levels of demand from the underfinanced local industry.
Architectural and decorative coatings for consumer and professional uses account for around 76% of the total market, although this proportion varies from country to country. This percentage is typically high for developing regions like Central Asia, where agriculture contributes a substantial portion to GDP and the manufacturing sector is stagnating, emerging or developing.
Growing demand for industrial coatings
In the industrial coatings segment, the highest growth is forecast for the materials with special protective properties, as there are significant resources of oil and gas in the region as well as of mineral commodities. The growing demand for general industrial coatings in Central Asia springs from its machine building, metal working industries and road marking applications. The demand for refinishes is justified by the growing car fleet in the region on one hand, and a genuine interest in car maintenance among ordinary citizens, common for the regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, on the other. The level of popularity of powder coatings is different for the various country markets.
‘A Profile of the Central Asian Paint Industry’ gives an insight into the market changes in the past few years, as well as outlining the key trends affecting the decorative and industrial coatings segments for each individual country covered.
