Driven by downstream demand, my country’s glycerol market is gradually growing

Glycerin, also known as glycerin, has a chemical formula of C3H8O3. It appears as a colorless, non-toxic, viscous liquid with no special odor at normal temperature and pressure. It is insoluble in chloroform, carbon disulfide, petroleum ether, etc. Glycerol has certain hygroscopicity after being miscible with water. In addition to water, it can also absorb hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, etc. After years of development, the types of glycerin have become increasingly rich. According to different sources, glycerol can be divided into synthetic glycerin, natural glycerin, etc.; according to different application fields, glycerol can be divided into pharmaceutical grade, cosmetic grade, industrial grade, food grade, etc.

At present, my country’s glycerin industry chain has basically taken shape. The upstream of the industrial chain is mainly the raw material industry, providing propylene, natural oils and other raw materials; the midstream is mainly the glycerin production industry, responsible for the production and manufacturing of different types of glycerin; the downstream is mainly the application field, mostly used to produce propylene oxide, defoaming agents, etc. Products, glycerol is widely used in medicine, daily chemicals, coatings, cosmetics, food, tobacco and other fields. Among them, propylene oxide has become the largest application field of glycerol.

As an important organic chemical material, glycerol has a wide range of applications. In the field of cosmetics, glycerin is often used as a moisturizer and emollient due to its strong hygroscopicity. When applied to the skin, it can form a thin film to prevent water from evaporating. In the food field, glycerin can be used as a preservative and sweetener to improve the taste of food and extend the shelf life of food. Overall, my country’s glycerin market demand continues to grow.

According to the “Development Situation and Development Prospects Forecast Report of China’s Glycerin Industry from 2023 to 2027” released by the Industrial Research Center, as my country The cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical markets are developing rapidly, the market demand for glycerol is gradually increasing, and the market size is expanding. In 2022, my country’s glycerin market size will be 7.831 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%.

Due to the large gap between my country’s glycerin market demand and production, large quantities of glycerin still need to be imported from abroad to fill this gap. However, as the production scale of my country’s glycerin enterprises gradually expands, glycerin production continues to increase, and the import volume gradually decreases. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, my country’s glycerol imports will be 492,500 tons in 2022, a decrease of 2,600 tons compared with 2021.

From the perspective of import source countries, my country’s glycerin import source countries mainly include Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, etc. Among them, Indonesia has become my country’s largest import source of glycerin, accounting for 66.1% of the import volume; followed by Malaysia, accounting for 16.2% of the import volume.

Industry analysts said that at present, my country’s glycerin market has not yet formed a stable competition pattern, and the market concentration is low. The largest glycerol production companies in my country mainly include Zhuoyue New Energy, Hangzhou Oleochemicals, Kangqiao Oils, Shuangma Chemicals, Dongma Palm, Wilmar Oils, etc. With the rapid development of my country’s glycerin market, cosmetics and medicinal companies have also begun to get involved in this field. The number of companies in the industry has gradually increased. Competition in my country’s glycerin market will become more intense in the future.