The Global Soap and Detergent Market Expands Eco-Friendly Product Lines to Meet Growing Demand

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

The pandemic shifted the demand for soap and detergents. Amid the increased market competition and increased environmental concerns, soap manufacturers expand eco-friendly product lines. These shifts are to persist in the medium-to-long term even when the pandemic starts to wane.

Key Trends and Insights

Due to the increased attention to personal hygiene, as well as home and public place cleaning, the COVID crisis has boosted the soap and detergent market, which reached approx. $132 billion in 2020 (IndexBox estimates, in wholesale prices).

Under new market conditions, manufacturers have faced increasing competition while many businesses switched to the production of cleaning preparations in a bid to survive during lockdowns. The main product trend in 2021 is the production of environmentally friendly and safe detergents.

Manufacturers are trying to replace aggressive chemical components with natural and safe ones and expand their product lines. Another trend is the development of energy-saving low-temperature washing preparations.

New consumption patterns brought by the pandemic are expected to persist in the medium-to-long term. Given this impetus, together with the population growth, rapid urbanization, and rising hygiene attention in the developing world, the market is expected to reach approx. $150B in 2030 (IndexBox estimates).

Global Soap Consumption 

The country with the largest volume of soap and detergent consumption was China (20M tonnes), accounting for 22% of the total volume. Moreover, soap and detergent consumption in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, the U.S. (10M tonnes), twofold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by India (7.6M tonnes), with an 8.2% share.

In China, soap and detergent consumption increased at an average annual rate of +2.3% over the period from 2012-2019. In the other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: the U.S. (+1.7% per year) and India (+2.0% per year).

In value terms, the largest soap and detergent markets worldwide were the U.S. ($23.5B), China ($20.4B), and India ($10.3B), together comprising 42% of the global market. These countries were followed by Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Spain, and Viet Nam, which together accounted for a further 25%.

The countries with the highest levels of soap and detergent per capita consumption in 2019 were Turkey (37 kg per person), Spain (34 kg per person), and the U.S. (30 kg per person).

Global Soap Imports

In 2019, approx. 24M tonnes of soap and detergents were imported worldwide, growing by 2.6% against 2018. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +4.0% from 2012 to 2019; the trend pattern remained consistent, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being observed in certain years. In value terms, soap and detergent imports stood at $38.3B (IndexBox estimates) in 2019.

In 2019, Germany (1,706K tonnes), China (1,446K tonnes), France (1,133K tonnes), the U.S. (976K tonnes), the UK (910K tonnes), the Netherlands (883K tonnes), Canada (839K tonnes), Belgium (806K tonnes), Poland (560K tonnes), Italy (528K tonnes), Russia (452K tonnes) and Spain (424K tonnes) was the key importer of soap and detergents in the world, generating 44% of total import. Iraq (412K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

In value terms, Germany ($2.8B), the U.S. ($2.1B), and China ($1.9B) were the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2019, together accounting for 18% of global imports.

China recorded the highest growth rate of the import value among the main importing countries over the period under review, while purchases for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In 2019, the average soap and detergent import price amounted to $1,587 per tonne, standing approx. at the previous year. Over the period under review, the import price continues to indicate a slight shrinkage. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2018, an increase of 3.5% y-o-y. Over the period under review, average import prices attained the maximum at $1,717 per tonne in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, import prices failed to regain momentum.

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major importing countries. In 2019, the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($2,150 per tonne), while Iraq ($929 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

From 2012 to 2019, the most notable growth rate in terms of prices was attained by China, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform