Analysis of future development trend of dyestuff and intermediate industry

Overview of the dye industry.

Dye refers to the material that can dye fabric or other material into bright and firm color. There are many kinds of dyes, according to the source can be divided into natural dyes (such as plant dyes, animal dyes and mineral dyes, etc.) and synthetic dyes (or artificial dyes). According to the molecular structure can be divided into azo dyes, anthracone dyes, phthalocyanine dyes, aromatic methane dyes, nitrodyes, and so on. According to the application method, it can be divided into acid dyes, basic dyes, sulfur dyes, reactive dyes, disperse dyes, direct dyes, etc.

As early as 1997, China has been the world’s largest dye production, the output of more than half of the world’s dye production, China is the world’s largest dye production, export and consumption of the country. But every year the world dye market demand is limited, China’s dye production is impossible to continue to grow.

While promoting the development of national economy and improving people’s living standard, pollution caused by the production and use of so many dyes in Our country cannot be ignored. The dye industry itself does not produce much waste water, but the dye industry upstream and downstream enterprises waste water is very serious, especially the downstream printing and dyeing industry.

Because upstream dye intermediates production wastewater and downstream dyeing wastewater are is much bigger than the amount of dye industry waste water, and environmental governance has come to the stage, have to be so in the future period, the dye industry may face the upstream raw material prices, the industry product price increases, but the output stagnated fluctuates up and down.

There is a situation that will make the dye industry appear more volatile, that is, the global economy suddenly appear a lot of turbulence. The 2008 economic crisis and the ongoing coVID-19 pandemic have had a huge impact on the world economy and trade. It also has a great impact on China’s dye industry. In the first and second quarters, major economic indicators such as production, investment and quality efficiency of dye enterprises have significantly decreased compared with the same period of last year, and the industry as a whole shows a negative growth trend, and many enterprises even have operating losses. Although some indicators of the dye industry have shown signs of recovery since the second quarter, the current production and operation pressure of enterprises is still relatively prominent, lack of demand is still the biggest problem plaguing enterprises, and the industry faces a big test to maintain stable operation throughout the year.

Development status of dyestuff and intermediate production in China.

Development status of Dye production in China

Since the reform and opening up, especially after the 1990s, as the world’s garment, textile, fiber and printing and dyeing industries moved to China and India, China’s dyestuff manufacturing industry has witnessed rapid development. The annual output of dyestuff has increased from 257,000 tons in 2000 to 990 thousand tons in 2017, with rapid growth.

Development status of dye intermediates in China

Dye intermediates, also known as intermediates, generally refer to a variety of aromatic derivatives used in the production of dyes and organic pigments. They are prepared from aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene and anthracene from coal and petrochemical industries through a series of organic synthesis unit processes. Since 1990s, with the development of world dyestuff manufacturing industry and textile industry, China’s dyestuff manufacturing industry has developed rapidly, which also promoted the rapid development of dyestuff intermediate industry. According to data from China Dyestuff Industry Association, China’s output of dyestuff intermediates increased from 215,000 tons in 2010 to 463,000 tons in 2019, with an annual compound growth rate of nearly 8.90%.

Analysis of future development trend of dyestuff and intermediate industry.

Environmental protection, dyestuff and intermediate industry concentration increased

In recent years, China’s environmental pollution problem has become increasingly prominent. The Chinese government has been strengthening environmental protection supervision and accelerating the pace of improving environmental protection related legislation. In the regulation of environmental protection under the trend of increasing, dyes and intermediates industry are not up to standard of environmental protection enterprise regulated punishment, to be prepared in accordance with the requirements for rectification or even shut down, there will be a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises out of dye industry, industry market share gradually to have technical advantages and the environmental protection energy conservation, environmental protection production capacity of concentration of industry leading enterprises, prompting industry profitability and profit levels further differentiation. In the future, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and integration of enterprises in the industry will become an inevitable development trend, which will further promote the improvement of industrial concentration.

Industry leaders to carry out industrial chain integration layout

The cost and scale advantages brought by industrial chain integration will make enterprises more competitive in production continuity, cost control, quality stability and other aspects. The improvement of the industry chain has brought significant scale and cost advantages to the head enterprises in the dye industry. For example, leading enterprises in the domestic dye industry, Zhejiang Longsheng, Jihua Group and Leap Soil Have all laid out the upstream and downstream of the dye business early. Among them, Jihua Group has a relatively complete industrial chain from basic raw materials, energy, supporting intermediates to “three wastes” treatment.

With the mature development of China’s dye industry, the construction of industrial chain integration has become an important strategic means for leading enterprises to enhance profitability and build competition barriers.

The innovation and development of environment-friendly and high-quality products promote industrial transformation and upgrading

At the policy level, the Guidance on the development of printing and dyeing Industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan period puts forward the key tasks during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, namely, accelerating scientific and technological progress, developing ecological and environment-friendly dyes and additives, developing and promoting water-saving and energy-saving technologies, and developing and applying low-cost and high-efficiency wastewater and waste gas treatment technologies.
Driven by the market, “green textile” has become the standard and requirement of the textile industry as the green ecology becomes more and more popular and the environmental protection requirements become more and more strict. The green, environmental protection and differentiated products that meet the middle and high-end demands become the future development direction. This prompts the dye industry to develop differentiated, environmentally friendly and high-quality dye products to meet the needs of medium and high-end textiles. The transformation and upgrading of dyestuff and intermediate industry is an inevitable trend.