Analysis of the International Market Competition Status of China's Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Industry in 2022

Core data of this article: Production capacity and global proportion of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), export volume of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), import and export unit price of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)

Domestic enterprises account for over 50% of global production capacity

Entering the 21st century, thanks to factors such as a complete domestic industrial chain layout, sufficient policy support, and relatively cheap and high-quality labor, global PVA production capacity has gradually concentrated in the Chinese market, and the domestic PVA industry has been able to develop rapidly. In addition, with the increasing competition in the traditional PVA product market, international PVA giants are gradually extending to downstream high value-added areas, and some enterprises are gradually withdrawing from the traditional PVA market. Chinese enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in the global PVA market. In 2021, the domestic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) production capacity (nominal production capacity) accounted for over 50% of the global total production capacity.

Domestic PVA exports account for over 20% of total production

In recent years, expanding foreign exports has been an important way to alleviate China's PVA overcapacity. Before the COVID-19 in 2020, the export volume of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in China had an obvious growth trend. Affected by the global economic downturn and weak market demand from 2020 to 2021, the export volume of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in China has declined, but there are signs of recovery in 2021.

From the proportion of domestic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) exports to total production, its trend of change is consistent with the overall export volume, with exports accounting for over 20% of production in 2021. Overall, domestic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) industry enterprises in China are accelerating their export market layout and actively participating in global market competition.

From the perspective of export regions, in 2021, there will be more than 100 countries or regions exporting polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) products from Chinese Mainland, of which India will have the largest export amount, accounting for more than 10%; Secondly, it is aimed at South Korea, Malaysia, Belgium, the Netherlands, and others. The top ten countries or regions in terms of export value are mainly Asian and European countries. Overall, China's polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) industry enterprises have a larger export layout to Asia and Europe.

Domestic PVA enterprises mainly compete in the mid to low end market

From the perspective of the competition level in the global polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) market, currently most domestic enterprises' PVA products are ordinary PVA products with medium degree of polymerization and high degree of alcoholysis, mainly competing in the mid to low end market. The high-end PVA market with high degree of polymerization and low degree of alcoholysis is mainly occupied by large multinational enterprises such as Japan's Kuraray, Japan's SEKISUI Chemical, Japan's UNITIKA, and the United States' DuPont Company, There is still a certain gap in the technical level of domestic and foreign products.

Further comparing the import and export prices of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), in recent years, the import unit price of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in China has been about 1.5 to 1.8 times that of exports. The main reason for the large price difference is that the imported products are mainly high-end, differentiated, and special brand PVA products; The export products are mainly low-end products, and the competition in the low-end market is more obvious.

It is also worth noting that the average export unit price of China's polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) industry showed a fluctuating growth trend from 2017 to 2021. In 2021, the average import unit price of the industry increased to 15200 yuan/ton, which also reflects the improvement of the quality of domestic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) export products and the effectiveness of domestic industrial structure adjustment. Competition in the international market is gradually transitioning from low price strategy competition to high-end market competition.