The global Terephthalic Acid Market was valued at USD 79 Billion in 2023 and is poised to register a CAGR of 3.5% to reach around USD 100 Billion in 2032. The global Terephthalic Acid market is primarily driven by the production of PET resins, films, and fibers. The largest application of PTA is in the production of polyethylene terephthalate polymer (PET) accounting for over 95% of the global Terephthalic Acid Market.
PTA stands for Purified Terephthalic Acid is one of the largest commodity chemicals. It is produced in two stages: Initially, crude PTA is produced from the oxidation of paraxylene in acetic acid solvent and in the presence of air. Manganese or cobalt acetate are used as a catalyst. The produced PTA is impure as it contains impurities such as 4-carboxy benzaldehyde, para-tolu aldehyde, benzoic acid, and para-toluic acid. In the second stage, crude PTA undergoes chemical and physical procedures such as hydrogenation, crystallization, filtration and drying to produce high-purity PTA. The major application of PTA is in production of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) including PET fiber, PET bottle resins and PET film.
Asia-Pacific dominates the global PTA market accounting for over 85% of global demand in 2023. China is the largest consumer of PTA in the region and the world. China is also the largest producer of PTA globally with estimated production of around 61,009 Kiloton in 2023. The largest downstream application of PTA is polyethylene terephthalate, accounting for around 95% of the PTA consumption. Polyethylene Terephthalate resin is produced through polycondensation reaction of PTA and mono-ethylene glycol and around 1 ton of PET requires around 0.85-0.86 tons of PTA.
The major producers of PTA in China includes, Hengli Petrochemical, Yisheng Petrochemical, Jianxing Petrochemical, Xiang Lu Petrochemical, Hanbang Jiangyin Petrochemical, BP Zhuhai Chemical. Globally, Hengli Petrochemical located in Changxing Island, China is the largest producer of PTA with total production capacity of around 11,600 Kiloton annually. The company has 5 production lines and utilises INVISTA technology for PTA production, with 6th and 7th line in slated to start by Q1-2024. More than half of the country’s PTA production facility is in East China.
Source: Secondary & Primary Research and Prismane Consulting estimatesIn 2022, the primary importers of PTA were India, the USA, Germany, Turkey, and China, with Turkey leading the pack as the largest importer, closely followed by India. Specifically, India's PTA imports amounted to approximately 1,650 Kiloton in 2022. The main sources of PTA imports into India were China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. During the period from 2016 to 2022, Turkey consistently imported an average of about 992 Kiloton of PTA, primarily from South Korea and China.
Source: Secondary & Primary Research and Prismane Consulting estimates
PET is the largest application of PTA and accounts for over 95% of PTA demand. Out of total PET, around 50% of PTA goes into the production of PET filament. PET bottle grade, chips, films, and staple fiber together consumes 44% of the total PTA demand. Other minor applications including polybutylene terephthalate, powder coatings, insulation material, and packaging accounting for around 1-2% of global PTA demand.
Asia is the largest market for PET polymer in terms of PET capacity, production, and demand. The demand for PET polymer in Mainland China exceeded more than 55% of the global demand in 2023. PET is largely used for the production of polyester fiber. PET accounts for around 50% of 100 million tons of fiber consumed globally. Polyester fiber owing to its excellent wrinkling resistance, elasticity, low cost, and stiffness is used to make woven garments, home furnishings, apparel, etc. There is an increase in the amount of polyester fiber consumption in dyeing, textile weaving, and apparel-making industries on the back of the fast-growing textile industry of Asia.
Apparel is one of the significant applications of polyester fiber and China and USA are the major markets of apparel globally. China is the largest exporter of apparels in the world and exported total textile and apparel of worth around USD 374 Billion in 2023, increasing at a year-on-year growth of 0.2%. The total exports of textiles and apparel slowed down in 2022 as compared to 2021 owing to economic recession and interest rate hikes of overseas governments. However, total exports of China were up by around 23% in 2023 from USD 272 Billion in 2019. The top 10 major destinations for China textile and apparel were the USA, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Bangladesh, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Australia, the UK and Others.
The growth of PTA market can be hampered by the growing demand of recycled PET. The growing concern towards environmental sustainability is driving the market of recycled products. There is a growing demand for products made from recycled PET in the packaging, automotive, and textile industries. Many manufacturers are turning towards recycled PET. Indorama Ventures is the largest producer of recycled PET globally for beverage bottles. Indorama and Carbios collaborated in 2022 to build a bio-recycled PET manufacturing facility in Longlaville, France. The production facility will be operational by 2025 and will produce 100% bio-recycled PET.
Source: Secondary & Primary Research and Prismane Consulting estimates
Lotte Chemical, a PTA prouder in South Korea will withdraw from PTA Business to focus completely on its special material business including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET. The company announced in 2023 that it would sell its subsidiary, Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited to a chemical company, Lucky Core Industries located in Lahore, Pakistan at around USD 156 Million.
Hengli Petrochemical is set to bring two additional PTA plants online, each with a capacity of 2.5 million tons. Line 6 is projected to commence operations in 2023, while line 7 is expected to follow suit in 2024. In the meantime, Zhejiang Yisheng Petrochemical expanded its No. 2 plant in the middle of 2021. Furthermore, Fujian Petrochemical has plans to augment its existing 4.5 million-ton plant with a new 3 million-ton facility, with operations slated to begin by 2026.
In India, Indian Oil Corp. is on track to initiate its 1.25 million-ton PTA plant in Odisha by 2024. Simultaneously, Reliance Industries Ltd. is gearing up for a mid-2024 start, with additional expansions planned at the same facility, resulting in a total new capacity of 3 million tons, scheduled to be operational by 2026.
JBF Industries successfully commenced operations at its PTA plant in 2022. Another significant expansion is in progress at Haldia Petrochemicals, involving an increase of 2.5 million tons, with a target start date of 2025.
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