The market demand for o-cresol is growing rapidly, but industry supply is tightening

o-Cresol, also known as o-cresol, o-cresol, 2-cresol, etc., is a type of cresol isomer. O-cresol is mainly used as a synthetic resin. It can also be used to make pesticides such as dimethyl tetrachloride herbicides, pharmaceutical disinfectants, spices, chemical reagents and antioxidants. Its downstream products mainly include synthetic resin o-cresol phenolic resin, o-Methyl salicylic acid, p-chloro-o-cresol, o-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-methyl-5-isopropylphenol methyl and antioxidants, etc.

The terminal applications of o-cresol cover synthetic resins, pesticides, medicines, dyes, spices and other fields. In recent years, the development of various application fields has provided effective support for the growth of demand for o-cresol. Among them, in recent years, our country has vigorously developed the new infrastructure industry and regarded it as an important part of the strategic adjustment of the economic structure. The development of o-cresol epoxy resin and other industries has generally shown a situation of “rapid development and strong demand”. The development of these industries Becoming one of the main driving forces for the rapid increase in demand for o-cresol. According to the “China o-cresol Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center, China’s o-cresol market demand in 2021 will be 36,100 tons, with a growth rate of 17.6%.

From the production side, thanks to the country’s emphasis on synthetic resin and other industries and the gradual in-depth research on o-cresol by relevant domestic organizations, the number of companies in my country that have mastered o-cresol production technology is increasing, among which the more representative companies It is in the hands of Hunan Xinling Chemical Co., Ltd., Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Materials Co., Ltd., Anhui Huilong Agricultural Materials Group Co., Ltd., Heze Ruisheng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd., among which Hunan Xinling Chemical Co., Ltd. has o-cresol production capacity It reaches 15,000 tons/year, accounting for 24.3% of the national production capacity, and is the enterprise with the largest domestic production capacity. At this stage, due to low production capacity utilization and rapid market demand growth, the supply of domestic o-cresol industry is tightening. Some companies only maintain old customers, and the level of market competition is relatively relaxed.

Industry researchers said that o-cresol epoxy resin is the largest application field of o-cresol and is also a field with rapid growth. O-cresol epoxy resin has excellent thermal stability, chemical stability, and excellent moisture resistance. It is the most widely used matrix resin for electronic grade epoxy molding compounds. In recent years, with the rapid development of my country’s electronic information industry, the demand for epoxy molding compounds, as one of the difficult structural materials for integrated circuits, has been growing continuously and rapidly, which has driven the rapid development of the upstream o-cresol market. . In the future, with the development of 5G technology and policy support such as new infrastructure, the market for electronic-grade epoxy molding compounds will expand, and the demand for o-cresol will continue to increase. Under this circumstance, the o-cresol market will continue to have a high degree of prosperity.