Why are Sales of Inorganic Salts Soaring in Asia-Pacific?

With the mushrooming consumption of salt, expansion of the agrochemical industry, and surging application pool of inorganic salts in the chemical producing industry, the worldwide demand for inorganic salts is soaring. Inorganic salts are heavily required in the chemicals industry, as they are needed for use as the primary feedstock in the production of synthetic soda ash and chlor alkali. Moreover, inorganic salts, such as magnesium oxides are extensively used as antacids in the pharmaceutical sector and also as ‘epsom’ salts in the cement manufacturing sector.

Additionally, inorganic salts, such as calcium salts, zinc salts and nitrates, and ammonium phosphate are heavily used as fertilizers in agricultural processes, owing to their ability to enrich soil nutrients. Furthermore, zinc oxide is an important component for the vulcanization of rubber during rubber processing. Inorganic salts are also used as catalysts in animal feed in small portions. Due to these factors, the demand for inorganic salts is surging sharply across the world, which is causing the expansion of the global inorganic salts market.

Rising consumption of salt and its applications in several manufacturing and industrial processes are some of the major factors responsible for the surge in the demand for inorganic salts across the world. Inorganic salts are widely used in various applications such as ceramics, fertilizers, paint, paper, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. In addition to this, these salts are used in sulphur adsorbents, fire retardants, and in animal feed as catalyst. Phosphates, one of the types of inorganic salts, are used in the construction sector (in carbonates), glass manufacturing (in silicates), and fertilizers.

Due to the above-mentioned factors, the global inorganic salts market is expected to exhibit huge growth in the coming years. Inorganic salts are extensively used in modern biotechnological processes like pressure liquid chromatography devices as reagents. Surging research and development (R&D) activities in the field of biotechnology is predicted to present major growth opportunities for the inorganic salts manufacturing companies across the globe. In addition to this, numerous sulphide salts, such as selenium sulphides, have found various applications in the cosmetics industry, such as in the production of anti-dandruff products.

Inorganic salts are used in the chemical, fertilizer, healthcare, construction, and food industries. Amongst these, the chemical sector is expected to record huge growth in the utilization of inorganic salts in future. This is primarily attributed to the soaring usage of these sales in various end products in the chemical industry such as sodium carbonate and caustic soda and in the manufacturing of paper, glass, and other important chemicals. Moreover, inorganic salts are widely needed for de-icing and anti-icing products and in various healthcare and fertilizers-related applications, which will further fuel the growth of the inorganic salts market.

Inorganic salts are commonly used in chemical production processes owing to the fact that these salts are required as primary feedstock in the chemical industry for the production of synthetic soda ash and chlor alkali. In the pharmaceutical sector, inorganic salts such as magnesium oxides are used as antacids. Additionally, inorganic salts are required in the cement manufacturing industry as Epsom salts. Owing to the numerous advantages and useful characteristics offered by the inorganic salts like calcium salts, nitrates, ammonium phosphate, and zinc salts such as their excellent soil nutrients enhancing properties, they are extensively being used in fertilizers.

Globally, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region recorded the highest usage of inorganic salts in the past, followed by North America and Europe. In the APAC region, China registered the highest utilization of inorganic salts over the last few years, owing to the presence of a huge chemicals industry in the country. Moreover, the soaring construction activities in China are predicted to significantly boost the usage of inorganic salts in the country in the coming years. In India, the utilization of inorganic salts is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years, mainly on account of the booming healthcare sector.

Therefore, it can be concluded that owing to the burgeoning usage of inorganic salts in a wide array of industries and agricultural processes, the demand for inorganic salts is expected to rise dramatically over the next few years.

According to the estimates of the market research company, P&S Intelligence, the market will advance at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2016 to 2022. These salts are divided into various salt groups, such as carbonates, oxides, nitrates, fluorides, silicates, acetates, chlorides, hypochloride sulphides, phosphates, and halides. These salt groups can be further categorized on the basis of their attached functional group. Moreover, these salts are utilized for various purposes in several industries, depending on their type. For example, carbonates are used in the construction sector, while silicates and phosphates are used in glass manufacturing and fertilizers, respectively.

Geographically, the demand for inorganic salts was found to be the highest in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in the years gone by. In this region, China is currently the largest consumer of these salts, primarily because of the expansion of the chemical industry in the country. In addition, the surging construction and infrastructure development activities are also predicted to fuel the requirement for inorganic salts in the country in the coming years.

The sales of inorganic salts are also predicted to rise sharply in India over the next few years, owing to the boom in the healthcare sector. As these salts are required for producing generic drugs, the surge in the healthcare sector is positively impacting their demand in the country. Furthermore, many countries in Europe are using acetate inorganic salts for producing apparels, home furnishings, dress linings, and upholstery, which is boosting the advancement of the inorganic salts market in the continent. Similarly, the industry is also booming in the U.S. and several Middle-Eastern countries, on account of the large-scale usage of sulphates for chemical processing in these nations.

Hence, the demand for inorganic salts is certain to shoot up all over the world in the upcoming years, mainly because of the growing use of various inorganic salts in the chemical, pharmaceutical, healthcare, agriculture, and construction sectors.