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

The kaolin market is projected to register a CAGR of less than 4% during the forecast period.

The COVID-19 negatively impacted the market in 2020. However, the market has now been estimated to have reached pre-pandemic levels and is expected to grow steadily in the future.

Key Highlights

• The paper industry uses more kaolin because people are becoming more aware of the environment and the price of pulp is going up.This, along with the growing need for high-quality ceramics, is driving market growth.
• High costs and regulations in mining and the adoption of other substitutes are expected to hinder market growth.
• Further, growing demand for sanitary ceramics is expected to act as a market opportunity in the coming years.
• The Asia-Pacific region dominated the market around the world, with countries like China, India, and Japan being the biggest consumers.

Kaolin Market Trends

Growing Demand from Paper and Ceramics Industries

• Kaolin is primarily used in the paper industry; it makes paper smoother and whiter, and it also acts as a filler in the interstices of the sheet.
• The use of kaolin supports gaining properties such as adding ink receptivity and opacity to the paper sheet and coupling to coat the surface, which in turn supports producing sharp photographic illustrations and bright printed colors.
• Kaolin has perfect opacity, which is an extremely important property for the paper industry. The use of kaolin gives brightness, gloss, and viscosity properties to paper. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), U.S.A., about 60% of kaolin is used only by the paper industry.
• In ceramics, kaolin is used for whiteware products, insulators, and refractories. Kaolin has excellent molding properties and adds dry and fired strength, dimensional stability, and a smooth surface finish to the ceramic products.
• According to the Reserve Bank of India, India exported ceramic and glassware goods worth more than USD 3.28 billion (INR 258.24 billion) in the fiscal year 2022 thus supporting market growth.
• Further, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2021, the United States produced 67.5 million metric tons of paper and paperboard, a nearly 2% increase over the previous year. The United States is the world's second-largest producer of paper and paperboard.
• Therefore, owing to the above-mentioned factors, the demand for kaolin is expected to increase significantly during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific Region to Dominate the Market

• Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global market owing to the highly developed ceramic sector and paper and paperboard production in China and India, coupled with the continuous investments made in the region to advance the plastic and rubber technology sectors through the years.
• The growing ceramic industry in China and India increases the utilization of kaolin. Especially products like sanitaryware, tableware, and tiles had decent growth in recent years. According to the Ceramic World Web, China stands first globally, followed by India, in ceramic tile manufacturing in the current scenario.
• In Asia-Pacific, the major usage of kaolin is in the paper industry because of the cost and limitations of pulp in the production of paper and paperboard.
• According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, around 11.6 million metric tons of processed paper and cardboard were produced in China in September 2022, reflecting an increase of nearly 8% compared to August 2022.
• Recently, the usage of kaolin in paints, rubber, plastics, medicines, adhesives, and cement sectors has been significantly growing due to its abrasion resistance, dimensional stability, and chemical inertness properties.
• According to the Rubber Board, in FY 2022, India consumed more than 1.2 million metric tons of natural rubber, an increase of 13% annually. In 2021, India will be the world's second-largest user of natural rubber. thus boosting market growth significantly in the region.
• Thus, the increasing demand from various applications is likely to surge the demand for kaolin in the region during the forecast period.

Kaolin Industry Overview

The kaolin market is partially consolidated in nature. Some of the major players in the market include BASF SE, SCR-Sibelco NV, EICL, Quartz Works GmbH and Imerys, among others (in no particular order).

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support