Global PVC demand to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% to 64.3 mln tons in 2020

The impact of global economic downturn has resulted in the slowdown in the construction industry worldwide. As more than 50% of the PVC is used in construction applications, there has been a downturn in the demand of PVC in many countries in the last few years. But as the economies recover from the recessionary times, the demand for PVC is expected to grow at a faster rate in the coming years to 2020. The global PVC demand was around 31 mln tons in 2009. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% and reach around 64.3 mln tons in 2020, as per GBI Research. The demand for PVC is highest in Asia. China is driving the majority of the demand for PVC in the world. The demand in advanced countries like Japan is largely stabilized. With the large population and growing economies of countries like India and China, there is a huge consumption potential in these countries. The Asian demand by volume for PVC in 2009 was nearly 16.7 mln tons. Europe is the second largest consumer of PVC in the world. Germany, Italy and France are the major consuming countries in Europe. The demand in some Western European countries, such as Italy, France and the UK is approaching the maturity stage. Growth in the European PVC demand is driven mostly by Russia. The demand for PVC in Europe was around 6.1 mln tons in the year 2009. The North American economy is the most developed and advanced, and the construction industry is also in the maturity stage. The North American region is also the most affected by the global economic downturn. Hence the scope for growth is lowest as the demand is close to saturation. However, the recovery from economic slowdown is expected to bring higher growth in the PVC demand. The North American demand for PVC in 2009 was close to 3.9 mln tons in 2009. PVC demand in South and Central America is growing steadily. This region consumed around 2.4 mln tons of PVC in the year 2009. The Middle East and African demand for PET is the second fastest growing after that of Asia. The Middle East and Africa region consumed around 1.91 mln tons PVC in 2009. The GDP of countries like China and India in Asia are growing at rates higher than the global GDP growth rates. Construction industry, which is the key market for PVC, is also growing very fast in these countries. The strong economic growth along with large population enables high growth rate in the consumption of PVC in these countries. The development rate of the countries in Middle East is also rising. The increased focus on increasing the downstream petrochemical industry in Middle East is helping the PVC market to grow at fast rate in this region. The construction industry is the leading market for PVC globally. It constitutes 54.8% of the global PVC demand. The packaging industry is the second leading market for PVC and accounts for 15.4% of global PVC market. The electrical industry accounts for 7% share and the textile industry accounts for 3.4% share in the global PVC market. The agriculture industry accounts for a share of 0.7% and automotive industry accounts for a share of 0.6% in the global PVC demand.