Terephthalic Acid Market Trends

Market Trends of Terephthalic Acid Industry

Increasing Demand from Polyester Fibers

• A significant share of the total globally produced terephthalic acid is used for manufacturing polyester fiber, a long-chain polymer with the ester functional group in each repeating unit.
• Polyester fibers carry attributes such as high strength, resilience, and durability. They exhibit quick drying ability, washability, and resistance to shrinkage, stretching, abrasion, and various chemicals. Polyester fibers are recognized as durable synthetic fabric/textiles that find application in apparel, home furnishing (floor coverings, curtains, etc.), upholstery, automotive textiles, and industrial (shale gas cracking, geotextiles, filtration, membranes for roofing) applications.
• Polyester fibers have become a fabric of choice for outdoor, specialty, and protective clothing because they can resist moisture and remain stain resistant. Polyester fabrics are widely used in home furnishing and upholstery fabrics due to being lightweight and presenting the ease of dyeing to form an array of colors and patterns.
• Clothing is a crucial export commodity in several countries. The United States boasts a thriving fashion and clothing industry. The country has strengthened its clothing trade over the years, closing the year 2021 with USD 85,007 million export value (revealed by the US Department of Commerce and OTEXA), up by 21.07% from the apparel export value obtained in 2020.
• Furthermore, as per the International Labour Organization, more than 60% of the world's clothing exports are manufactured in developing countries, with Asia-Pacific accounting for 32% of the share. China, the biggest apparel market in the Asia-Pacific region, registered a 17.35% hike in garment export shipments valued at USD 189.35 billion in the first seven months of 2022, as per the General Administration of Customs China.
• Polyester fibers are widely preferred material for designing automobile seat covers because of their high strength and modulus, good shape retention, and firm performance against UV radiation, heat, and abrasion. Apart from seat covers, polyester fibers are used in airbags, seat belts, side panels, headliners, etc. According to the OICA, in 2021, automobile production reached 80.14 million units, increasing by 3% from the same period in 2020. This is expected to augment the demand for the market studied.
• The growing market trends in the textile, automobile production, and other application sectors are expected to surge the consumption of polyester fibers, thereby increasing the demand for terephthalic acid in the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific to Dominate the Market

• The Asia-Pacific region dominates the global terephthalic acid market owing to the presence of matured downstream packaging, textile manufacturing, and food and beverage industries in countries like China and India. The availability of cheap labor and low production cost back the growth of the downstream industries in these countries.
• China leads the world in terms of both production and demand for terephthalic acid. Moreover, to bolster its position in the downstream markets China is undergoing a massive capacity expansion of terephthalic acid. For instance, in 2021, the country witnessed the commissioning of Yisheng Petrochemical's two new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production lines, each having a capacity of 3.3 million tons per year. Jiangsu Jiatong Energy Nantong City is also planning to expand its PTA line with the addition of 2.5 million tons per annum capacity.
• On the other hand, China owns the world's largest textile industry where PTA-derived polyester fibers are in high demand. China's textile industry continued steady expansion in the first nine months of 2022, according to data from the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The combined operating revenue of major textile enterprises in China rose by 3.1% y-o-y reaching CNY 3.86 trillion (USD 570 billion) in that period.
• According to IBEF, the Indian textile and apparel industry is estimated to reach USD 190 billion by 2025-2026. India has a 4% share of the global trade in textiles and apparel. In FY 2022, India's textile and apparel exports amounted to USD 44.4 billion, registering a whopping 41% y-o-y increase.
• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) derived from terephthalic acid is a crucial plastic material used for packaging applications. According to the Packaging Industry Association of India (PIAI), the sector has grown at a CAGR of over 20% in the past five years. The Indian packaging industry has made a mark with its exports and imports, thus driving technology and innovation growth in the country and adding value to the various manufacturing sectors.
• Thus, the rising investments in PTA production and growing demand for PTA in various end-user industries are projected to propel the growth of the market studied in the Asia-Pacific region.