"With limited regulatory control for biocide usage within the Indian market, higher priced specialties will continue to face stiff competition from commodity biocides," notes Anna Ibbotson, industry manager for Kline's Chemicals and Materials practice. "So, despite the many strong growth drivers, specialty biocide uptake will be hindered by the cheaper alternative commodities, unless end-user companies are focused on export markets."
According to Kline's Specialty Biocides 2008: India Market Analysis and Opportunities, paints and coatings consume the greatest volume of formulated biocides in India, with just over a 90% share of the formulated biocides market. Formulated biocides consumption will grow at 12.3% in value, whereas single actives consumed in paints and coatings at 11.0%. Cooling water is the dominant market in India for single-active biocides and is growing at a healthy 10.9%.
"The formulated biocide suppliers would continue to hold an edge over the single active biocide suppliers as they possess the advantage of supplying a blend of product chemistries at a reasonable cost," notes Parvesh Magoo, a consultant for Kline's Chemicals and Materials practice.
Despite the global economic slowdown, the forecast of India's GDP growth measures approximately 8% for the next three years, and its economy is the focus of much international attention. The Indian paints and coatings industry has been receiving a lot of attention, as foreign manufacturers regard decorative coatings, automotive coatings, and general industries coatings as attractive segments for investment in India.
The major players in the Indian paints and coatings industry, such as Asian Paints, Akzo Nobel India Ltd, Kansai Nerolac, and Berger Paints, are establishing new plants or expanding current capacities to serve Indian markets. In addition to the entry of the new players, there has been a high degree of consolidation taking place in the Indian market.
In addition to the growth of production volume, expectations of paints and coatings customers in the country with regards to product quality have increased. For many medium- to large-sized coatings manufacturers, quality is becoming a more important factor than cost and therefore an increasing number of paints and coatings manufacturers have begun using biocides.
The heavy industry segment is the major end user of specialty biocides in cooling water systems. This includes petrochemical plants, refineries, power plants, iron and steel mills, and chemical manufacturers. Demand for cooling water is forecast to grow at a rate of 15% annually over the next five years.
