Global Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP) Market Analysis

Global Superabsorbent Polymers Market Analysis

The global superabsorbent polymers (SAP) market has shown moderate growth rates largely driven by rising demand from different end-use industries and from countries like in China, India and other Asia-Pacific countries (Specially South East Asia). Historically, the economically mature regions like North America and western Europe have witnessed below average growth rates and will continue to lose their demand market share to Asia-Pacific countries like China and India. At the same time, Central & Eastern European demand is likely to grow at a higher rate of about 6.0% in the long term forecast albeit from a low base. The Central & South American region is forecast to grow at CAGR of around5.8%till 2025; however, it will completely depend on how South American countries like Venezuela are able to cope up with the regional political uncertainties, inflation and other economic problems and the economic recovery of Brazil. The Middle Eastern & African markets, starting from a very small base, have seen some of the highest growth rates, and are expected to grow at an annual average of 7.1% making the region witnessing some of the highest CAGR at a global level.

Regional SAP Demand, 2018 (2930.9 Kilo Tons)

Global SAP demand was almost 2250.7 kilotons in 2014 and it has grown by an average annual rate of slightly over 6.8% since 2014. The global SAP market is expected to grow at an annual average of around 5.7% during the forecast period till 2025.

SAP is primarily used in a number of hygienic and personal care products, such as baby diapers, adult incontinence products and sanitary napkins. Collectively, these uses make up approximately 94.9% of global SAP use. Amongst all these applications, the use of SAP in baby diapers is predominant. It accounts for around 80.7% of global SAP demand. The percentage of SAP used for disposable diapers is even higher in developed countries such as Japan, the US and Western European countries, and lower in countries that are still adopting disposable diapers. Diaper demand is also high in regions of the higher population like China and India as well as developing regions like Brazil and Russia which show relatively low penetration by SAP, but may represent a high potential for demand growth mainly due to higher disposable incomes, growing awareness of the need for good hygiene and an increasing number of working mothers.

Global Demand, By Application,2018 (2930.9 Kilo Tons)

The baby diapers sector is the fastest growing application representing about 80.7% of global SAP demand. Sanitary Napkins are the third largest sector, steadily growing with a roughly 5.8% share of global SAP demand. The second largest application is for Adult incontinence products that account for 8.3% share. The remaining SAP is used in agriculture, packaging materials, technical applications and other miscellaneous applications.

 Global Demand, ByApplication, (2014-2025)