Benzene is a commodity petrochemical product, mainly produced in oil refineries and steam cracking, or as a by-product of paraxylene production. The main chemical substances produced by benzene are ethylbenzene, isobenzene, cyclohexane and nitrobenzene. In the end, benzene is widely used in downstream industries, including construction, automobiles, electronics and home appliances, as well as various other durable and consumables.
Due to the implementation of lockdown and social distancing rules, the COVID-19 pandemic has curbed economic growth in 2020. It is expected that Mainland China will become the only major economy in the world to avoid recession in 2020. Coupled with the reduction in spending and economic weakness caused by the COVID-19 disease, it is estimated that benzene consumption in 2020 will drop by nearly 5% from 2019 levels.
In the past ten years, the consumption of benzene has shifted from Western Europe (Western Europe, North America) to the East (Northeast Asia, Middle East, Southeast Asia). The influence of mainland China on the benzene market is becoming more and more important. Since 2015, benzene consumption in mainland China has grown at an average annual rate of nearly 8%.
During 2020-25, global benzene consumption will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 3-4%; the higher calculated growth rate is due to the sharp decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic and the expected recovery in 2021. As a result, the recovery will continue afterwards. It is expected that the growth will be mainly driven by developing markets in Asia, especially Mainland China. The consumption and growth of benzene will vary from region to region, depending on the development of downstream derivative production capacity.
The production of benzene is affected by many different dynamic factors, and these dynamic factors vary from region to region. Since benzene is mainly produced as a by-product, its supply is not driven by global demand for benzene, but by the demand for other products (gasoline, ethylene, p-xylene, steel). Due to the various potential sources (refineries, steam crackers, PX plants, coke ovens), the market balance of benzene is quite complex and is analyzed in detail in this report.
During the forecast period and beyond, several trends are expected to change the development process of the global benzene market; changes in mobile solutions, sustainability goals, increased consumer environmental awareness, changes in packaging plastic use regulations, and increased recycling activities , Are expected to affect the medium and long-term consumption of benzene.
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