The global pigments market is expected to reach revenues of $34.2 billion USD by 2020, due largely to extraordinary growth in the Asia-Pacific region. According to a study done by Ceresana, Asia-Pacific accounts for almost half of global consumption of pigments already, and is expected to increase its share of the market even further.

“This region will continue to be the growth motor of the pigments industry, as China and India in particular are substantially increasing demand for pigments,” the report states. “Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South America will see demand rise by more than 3% p.a. each as well and thus contribute to the positive development of the pigment industry. The rather saturated markets in Western Europe and North America will slowly return onto a growth path after they suffered losses in the past couple of years.”

The authors of Ceresana’s report, titled Market Study: Pigments, 3rd Edition, found that there are significant regional differences in demand for individual products. For example, titanium dioxide is dominating the pigment market, given its widespread use in paints, varnishes and the processing of plastics.

“North America consumes a disproportionately large amount of organic pigments; in Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, iron oxides are accounting for a comparatively large share of regional consumption. The largest growth potential in Asia-Pacific is expected for carbon black pigments,” the authors noted.

The report also found that paints and varnishes are by far the most important sales market for pigments worldwide; more than 43% of global demand originates in this segment. The processing of plastics, the report states, reports the second largest market volume and accounts for 27% of pigment demand. Plastics will develop at the second highest growth rates in the future; only printing inks will develop more dynamically, due to the growing market for printed packaging.

Another report, World Dyes & Organic Pigments Market, published in April 2015 by The Freedonia Group, found that global demand for dyes and organic pigments will increase to more than $30 billion in 2019. Researchers found that rising personal consumption expenditures will drive increased dye and organic pigment demand in textiles and plastics, while strong growth in global construction expenditures will boost demand in paints and coatings.

According to the report, increases in value demand will further reflect the growing importance of more expensive, higher value dyes and pigments that meet increasingly stringent performance standards and preferences for more environmentally friendly products. Despite the healthy growth, the authors note, even faster advances will be limited by a moderation in worldwide motor vehicle production and slow growth in printing inks due to challenges facing the print media industry.

The textile market accounted for more than half of world dye and organic pigment demand in 2014, and due to increased textile demand, it will be the primary contributor to increased global demand going forward.

“However, increased consumer expenditures will also contribute to above average growth in organic pigment demand in plastic products,” the report stated. “Dye and organic pigment consumption will remain concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, where the majority of world textiles and consumer plastic products are manufactured. While China will remain the dominant consumer of dyes and organic pigments, more rapid growth will be experienced in some of the smaller Asian markets such as Bangladesh, India and Vietnam, as textile and plastic producers continue to seek out the lowest cost options. In addition, consumer preferences for new, unusual colors that don’t fade, and yet are environmentally friendly, will boost growth.”

Freedonia researchers found that the fastest growth in dye and organic pigment demand will be in paint and coatings applications, driven primarily by strong advances in construction expenditures in North America and continued growth in the Asia-Pacific region. More moderate advances are forecast in dye and organic pigment demand in printing inks, due to the growing publishing of information in electronic form. The authors also found that opportunities exist for dyes and organic pigments for digital inks.

The report states that dyes will continue to represent the majority of the overall market in both volume and value. “Disperse and reactive dyes will continue to represent nearly half of total world dye demand, due to their popularity in the large textile market. Organic pigment demand will rise moderately faster than dyes going forward, though from a smaller base. Organic pigments are expected to gain further market share due to the increased usage of high performance pigments in printing inks, coatings and plastics applications,” the authors noted.