Oversupply Threatens Ethyl Acetate Market    
By Xiao Ming  

Rapid development of production

With the rapid development of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, China's ethyl acetate capacity has grown rapidly in recent years, from only 540 000 t/a in 2003 to 900 000 t/a in 2006. By the end of August 2009, the national capacity already reached 1.5 million t/a. Three producers use the ethanol dehydrogenation process and their combined capacity is 180 000 t/a. One producer uses the acetaldehyde condensation process and its capacity is 21 000 t/a. Other producers use the acetic acid esterification process and their combined capacity accounts for 86.6% of the national total. Jiangsu Sopo (Group) Co., Ltd. is the biggest ethyl acetate producer in China. It has a capacity of 200 000 t/a, accounting for around 13.3% of the national total. The company has achieved upstream/downstream integration in acetic acid series and has very competitive products. Fully 80% of ethyl acetate produced in the company is intended for export.
   China will continue to construct and expand ethyl acetate units in the next few years. On September 25th, 2009 Taixing Jinjiang Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. began the construction of a 100 000 t/a ethyl acetate and 20 000 t/a butyl acetate project. (CCR2008, No. 31) On October 16th, 2008 Shanghai Huayi (Group) Company began the construction of a coal-based chemical project including 300 000 t/a ethyl acetate in Wuwei Economic and Development Zone, Anhui province. (CCR2008, No. 32) The ethyl acetate capacity in China is expected to be more than 2.0 million t/a in 2012.
   With the capacity expansion, the output of ethyl acetate in China has also increased constantly. The output of ethyl acetate in China was only 330 000 tons in 2003 but increased to 630 000 tons in 2006. In spite of impacts from the global financial crisis, the output still reached 950 000 tons in 2008, an increase of around 33.8% over 2007.
   With the output increase, China has turned itself from a net importer of ethyl acetate to a net exporter. The net export amount of ethyl acetate in China was around 100 000 tons in 2006 and reached 182 800 tons in 2008.

Oversupply in future market

With the rapid growth of the economy, the consumption of coatings, inks and adhesives in China has increased remarkably in recent years and a stable consumption growth of ethyl acetated has been promoted. The apparent consumption of ethyl acetate in China was only 360 900 tons in 2003 but increased to 767 200 tons in 2008.
   Ethyl acetate in China is mainly used to produce coatings, pharmaceuticals, adhesives and inks and the consumption in these sectors accounted for 34%, 29%, 22% and 8.5% respectively in 2008. China's demand for ethyl acetate is expected to reach 900 000 tons in 2012 and the market will be in oversupply. The consumption mix in China will also see some changes at that time. The pharmaceutical and adhesive sectors will consume a smaller proportion. It is expected that with the constant development of new high-grade coatings the demand for ethyl acetate in the coatings sector will increase drastically. Besides, with the development of electronic and communication sectors the demand for ethyl acetate in the ink sector will also increase.

Technical level in need of upgrading

Ethyl acetate enterprises in China mainly use the acetic acid esterification process in production. There are still problems such as poor product quality and high raw material consumption. Enterprises should therefore accelerate technical renovation and production unit upgrading, improve product quality and reduce production costs. The ethanol dehydrogenation process is advanced and environment-friendly. China has already constructed commercial production units using this process. The ethyl acetate sector should disseminate the application of the ethanol dehydrogenation process on the basis of constant technology improvement.

Supply and Consumption of Ethyl Acetate in China from 2003 to 2008  
(thousand tons)
Year    Output    Import    Export    Apparent consumption
2003    330       42.7    11.8    360.9
2004    418       34.6    20.7    431.9
2005    473      46.4    18.8    500.6
2006    630       9.6      109.4    530.2
2007    710      7.6       137.0    580.6
2008    950       1.1       183.9    767.2
Source: CNCIC