Growth in Chinese demand for POM is expected to top 8% per annum

China is on the verge of overtaking Western Europe as the major consumer of POM. “At current growth rates, China will soon dominate global POM demand outright,” says Mark Morgan, senior consultant at Nexant Chem Systems. “Major POM projects are underway in China to meet this demand.”

These include the 60,000 tonnes/year Nantong joint venture between Ticona, Polyplastics and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and the 20,000 tonnes/year first phase Zhangjiagang joint venture between DuPont and Asahi.

Chinese demand growth is projected at around 8% per year for the short to medium term, from current levels of around 144,000 tonnes. For Europe, Nexant believes that POM demand was around 167,000 tonnes in 2003. Forecast average annual demand growth in Europe for the short to medium term is around 2.5% per year.