Thiochemicals Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

During the time frame of the forecast, the thiochemicals market is expected to register a CAGR of over 5%.

The COVID-19 pandemic had both short- and long-term effects on the market. The weakening oil and gas industry, as well as a brief halt in polymer and chemical activity owing to the pandemic lockdown, had a detrimental impact on thiochemicals market demand. However, demand for thiochemicals has expanded dramatically during the post-pandemic era and is expected to continue on the same path.

Key Highlights

• The rising use of thiochemicals in methionine production, which serves as a major nutrient for the poultry industry, is expected to drive market growth.
• However, the high toxicity of thiochemicals, such as isopropyl mercaptan and tetrahydrothiophene, which are flammable and extremely toxic to aquatic fauna, is likely to hinder the growth of the market.
• The increasing market penetration in African economies, like South Africa and Kenya, is expected to provide a substantial opportunity for the thiochemicals market in emerging economies.
• The Asia-Pacific region dominated the market for thiochemicals and is forecast to be the largest market for thiochemicals during the forecast period as well.

Thiochemicals Market Trends

Growing Usage in Animal Nutrition

• In animal nutrition, thiochemicals are mostly used in the form of methyl mercaptan, which is used to make methionine. Methionine is primarily utilized in livestock and poultry feed as a dietary supplement.
• According to the Alltech Agri-Food Forecast for 2023, Europe and North America made the most pet food in the world in 2022. Together, they made more than 11 million metric tons.With a production volume of roughly 8.86 million metric tons, Latin America came in third.
• Alltech also says that the United States has the largest pet food market in the world. In 2021, pet food sales in the United States will bring in nearly USD 44 billion.It was also noteworthy that most of the leading pet food companies around the globe are based in the United States, like Mars Petcare Inc., Nestle Purina PetCare, and J.M. Smucker.
• Due to a growing population, people all over the world are likely to eat more chicken. This is expected to increase the demand for chicken meat and eggs and increase the use of thiochemicals in the industry.
• The OECD-FAO Agricultural Forecast 2022-2031 predicts that the world's meat production will rise by 5% to 339 MT in 2021. This is mostly due to a 34% rise in China's pig meat production, which follows two years of sharp drops caused by an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).Global meat imports were estimated to reach 40 MT in 2021, with imports of chicken taking the lead. Most of this increased demand for meat imports came from the top exporters, such as Brazil, the European Union, and the United States.
• The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031 also said that by 2031, the amount of protein in chicken, pig, cow, and sheep meat would rise by 16%, 17%, 8%, and 16%, respectively.Compared to the period between 2019 and 2022, it is expected that 47% of all meat-based protein will come from chicken, followed by pig, sheep, and bovine.
• The projection also said that the world would eat 133,996.62 million tons of poultry meat in 2021 and 153,849.67 million tons of poultry meat in 2031.By 2031, poultry meat will still be the main reason why global meat production will have grown by 16%.

Increasing production and consumption of animal feed across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and Latin America is predicted to witness significant growth, which, in turn, is expected to augment product demand in the sector.

China to Dominate the Asia-Pacific Regional Market

• China's thiochemicals demand for methionine production is rising faster than the global average, due to the rising demand for meat products from China's wealthy middle class. The huge growth can be explained by the fact that the livestock and farming industries are using more and more animal feed.
• Methionine manufacturers are expanding production in the country by setting up new plants. This helps the country's animal feed industrial chain extend upstream and greatly boosts the development of the animal feed processing and breeding industries.
• The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031 stated in its report that the total production of poultry meat in China in the year 2021 was 21,448 thousand tons, which is expected to reach 24,448 thousand tons in 2031. On the other side, the total consumption of poultry meat in China in 2021 was about 22,318 thousand tons, which is also expected to increase at a gradual rate due to the shift towards more protein-rich animals in recent years.
• Moreover, according to the China Feed Industry Association, the total industrial feed output in China during the first half of 2022 is estimated to be around 136 million tons.
• Also, growing refining operations in the country and higher demand for natural gas are expected to help market growth a lot.
• According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022, China produced the most oil in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021. It produced close to 200 million tons of oil, which is 2.5% more than it did the year before.
• Accounting for one-third of the natural gas market in 2021, China was also the region's largest natural gas producer. Around 210 billion cubic meters of natural gas were produced in China overall in that period.

The market for thiochemicals is expected to grow during the forecast period because of all the good things that are happening in the country.

Thiochemicals Industry Overview

The theochemicals market is highly consolidated in nature. The major players in the market include (in no particular order) Arkema, Daicel Corporation, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Hebei Yanuo Bioscience Co., Ltd., and Toray Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., among others.

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