Global Glycerol Trade Has Almost Doubled Over the Past Three Years and Totaled $1.6B

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'World - Glycerol - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

Global Glycerol Trade 2013-2018

In 2018, global exports of glycerol (including synthetic, excluding crude, waters and lyes) amounted to $1.6B (IndexBox estimates). Over the period under review, the total exports indicated resilient growth from 2013 to 2018: its value increased at an average annual rate of +5.4% over the last five years. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. Based on 2018 figures, glycerol exports increased by +91.7% against 2016 indices.

Exports by Country

The exports of the four major exporters of glycerol, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Germany and the Netherlands, represented more than two-thirds of total export. It was distantly followed by Argentina (86K tonnes), mixing up a 4.9% share of total exports. Belgium (47K tonnes), Thailand (39K tonnes), the U.S. (34K tonnes), Poland (32K tonnes) and France (29K tonnes) took a relatively small share of total exports.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of exports, amongst the main exporting countries, was attained by Thailand, while exports for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, Malaysia ($351M), Indonesia ($309M) and Germany ($302M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of exports in 2018, with a combined 61% share of global exports. The Netherlands, Argentina, Belgium, the U.S., Thailand, France and Poland lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 28%.

Export Prices by Country

The average glycerol export price stood at $910 per tonne in 2018, surging by 26% against the previous year. In general, the export price indicated mild growth from 2013 to 2018: its price increased at an average annual rate of +1.5% over the last five-year period.

Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin; the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($1,274 per tonne), while Argentina ($741 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by France, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Imports by Country

In 2018, China (183K tonnes), the U.S. (144K tonnes) and the Netherlands (125K tonnes) represented the largest importer of glycerol in the world, generating 26% of total import. The following importers - Japan (73K tonnes), India (72K tonnes), the UK (71K tonnes), Mexico (67K tonnes), France (64K tonnes), Thailand (63K tonnes), Russia (52K tonnes), Spain (45K tonnes) and the Czech Republic (43K tonnes) - together made up 32% of total imports.

From 2013 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of imports, amongst the main importing countries, was attained by the Czech Republic, while imports for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the U.S. ($150M), China ($134M) and the Netherlands ($95M) were the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2018, together comprising 24% of global imports. These countries were followed by Japan, France, Mexico, India, the UK, Thailand, Spain, the Czech Republic and Russia, which together accounted for a further 32%.

Among the main importing countries, the Czech Republic experienced the highest growth rate of the value of imports, over the period under review, while imports for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform