Global Furfural Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2030

Global Furfural Market, By Raw Material (Corncobs, Rice Hulls, Cotton Hulls, Sugarcane Bagasse, Others), Process (Quaker Batch, Chinese Batch, Rosenlew Continuous, Others) Catalyst (Solid Acid Type, Liquid Acid Type), Application (Solvents, Flavour Enhancers, Fungicides, Gasoline Additives, Decolorizing Agents, Intermediates in Adhesives and Sealants), End User  (Chemical, Agrochemical, Pharmaceutical and Medical, Oil and Gas, Automotive and Transportation, Manufacturing, Furfurals and Polymer, Food and beverages, Fertilizer, Others) – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2030.

Furfural Market Analysis and Size

Recently, furfural has been emphasized as one of the value added chemicals produced in lignocellulosic bio-refineries. The furfural is highly used to manufacture inks, antacids, fungicides, fertilizers, plastics, adhesives, nematicides, and flavouring compounds globally. Moreover, furfural alcohol is the most widely derived chemical from furfural which is accounting for 80 percent of the overall consumption of furfural.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the furfural market is expected to reach USD 900.84 million by 2030, which is USD 556.74 million in 2022, registering a CAGR of 6.20% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2030. In addition to the insights on market scenarios such as market value, growth rate, segmentation, geographical coverage, and major players, the market reports curated by the Data Bridge Market Research also include in-depth expert analysis, geographically represented company-wise production and capacity, network layouts of distributors and partners, detailed and updated price trend analysis and deficit analysis of supply chain and demand.

Furfural Market Scope and Segmentation

Market Definition

Furfural is a naturally occurring compound with a chemical formula of (C4H3OCHO). It is prepared by dehydrating carbon sugars and also obtained from hemicellulose fraction of lignocellulosic biomass. It is a versatile in nature which is extensively utilized as a raw material to form phenol-furfural-resins. It can also be converted into tetrahydrofuran, furan, furfuryl alcohol, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), and diols by chemical reactions.

Global Furfural Market Dynamics

Drivers

• Increasing demand for furfuryl alcohol

Extensive usage of furfuryl alcohol in resins and plastic is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Plastics are used in various end-user industries due to their less weight, water resistance, and durability properties and the advantages of low cost. Therefore, the demand for the furfural alcohol is growing rapidly. Moreover, with the increasing research and development activities in the field of rocketry fuel, the consumption of the furfuryl alcohol is also expected to increase market growth during the forecast period.

• Growing usage of furfural in agrochemical  and horticulture sector

Furfural is widely used as an insecticide, nematicide, and fungicide in the agrochemical sector. It is an active component of numerous nematicides, including crop protectors and guards. The furfural chemical is also applied as a weed killer in horticulture. Moreover, furfural is a contact nematicide that is applied in relatively low concentrations and mechanically integrated into the soil during irrigation. It is relatively easy and safe to use as an agrochemical. Hence, growing usage of furfural in agrochemical and horticulture sector is likely to boost the market growth.

Opportunities

• Surging acquisition between major market players

The surging mergers, acquisition, mergers and collaboration between major market players will offer numerous growth opportunities within the market. For instance, Tannin Corporation finalized a contract to acquire Marden Wild Corporation in 2017. Marden Wild will continue to operate as a stand-alone company. With this acquisition, the Morden-Wild produce products more efficiently and also streamline its processes by adding numerous long-term job opportunities at the Amherst facility.

• Increasing demand of furfural as a solvent

Furfural is mainly used as a solvent in numerous end-use industries such as paints and coating, agriculture, chemicals, refineries, foundries, pharmaceuticals, automotive, construction, and others. The demand for the furfural increases as a solvent in various refractory materials, such as ceramic composites, bricks, fiberglass which is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market growth during the forecast period.

Restraints/ Challenge

• increasing availability of alternative options

Volatility in the price of raw material prices such as corncobs, rice hulls, cotton hulls in developed countries are some of the major factors which are expected to hamper the growth of the global furfural market during the forecast period of 2023 to 2030.

• Issues associated with production of furfural commercially

Various associated with production of furfural commercially such as relative low furfural yield (around 45–55%), impractical catalyst recovery, high energy consumption, equipment corrosion, as well as environmental hazards. These factors hamper the market growth in the forecast period.

This furfural market report provides details of new recent developments, trade regulations, import-export analysis, production analysis, value chain optimization, market share, impact of domestic and localized market players, analyses opportunities in terms of emerging revenue pockets, changes in market regulations, strategic market growth analysis, market size, category market growths, application niches and dominance, product approvals, product launches, geographic expansions, technological innovations in the market. To gain more info on the furfural market contact Data Bridge Market Research for an Analyst Brief, our team will help you take an informed market decision to achieve market growth.

Impact and Current Market Scenario of Raw Material Shortage and Shipping Delays

Data Bridge Market Research offers a high-level analysis of the market and delivers information by keeping in account the impact and current market environment of raw material shortage and shipping delays. This translates into assessing strategic possibilities, creating effective action plans, and assisting businesses in making important decisions.

Apart from the standard report, we also offer in-depth analysis of the procurement level from forecasted shipping delays, distributor mapping by region, commodity analysis, production analysis, price mapping trends, sourcing, category performance analysis, supply chain risk management solutions, advanced benchmarking, and other services for procurement and strategic support.

Expected Impact of Economic Slowdown on the Pricing and Availability of Products

When economic activity slows, industries begin to suffer. The forecasted effects of the economic downturn on the pricing and accessibility of the products are taken into account in the market insight reports and intelligence services provided by DBMR. With this, our clients can typically keep one step ahead of their competitors, project their sales and revenue, and estimate their profit and loss expenditures.

Recent Development

• In 2022, Numaligarh refinery planed to set up a USD 212 million bio refinery to produce bioethanol for 5MT of bamboo per annum. Also, these units will supply chipped bamboo for the refinery to form 49 metric tonnes of ethanol, 19 MT of furfural and 11 MT of acetic acid and other associated products.
• In 2021, Sappi has started working on the expansion of the furfural pilot plant to be operational initial in 2022. Sappi may construct a commercial furfural plant at the mill for pending successful results and further approvals.
• In 2020, Origin Materials which is a Canada-based and US-based material development company has committed to the commercial production of the sustainable and versatile chemical 5-chloromethyl furfural (CMF). At a commercial scale, Origin’s process forms 5-chloromethyl furfural (CMF) with a high carbon-negative cradle-to-gate footprint.

Global Furfural Market Scope

The furfural market is segmented on the basis of raw material, process, catalyst, application and end user. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyze meagre growth segments in the industries and provide the users with a valuable market overview and market insights to help them make strategic decisions for identifying core market applications.

Raw Material

• Corncobs
• Rice Hulls
• Cotton Hulls
• Sugarcane Bagasse
• Others

Process

• Quaker Batch
• Chinese Batch
• Rosenlew Continuous
• Other

Catalyst

• Solid Acid Type
• Liquid Acid Type

 Application

• Solvents
• Flavour Enhancers
• Fungicides
• Gasoline Additives
• Decolorizing Agents
• Intermediates in Adhesives and Sealants

End User

• Chemical
• Agrochemical
• Pharmaceutical and Medical
• Oil and Gas
• Automotive and Transportation
• Manufacturing
• Furfurals and Polymer
• Food and beverages
• Fertilizer
• Others

Furfural Market Regional Analysis/Insights

The furfural is analyzed and market size insights and trends are provided by country raw material, process, catalyst, application and end user as referenced above.

The countries covered in the furfural market report are U.S., Canada and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Rest of Europe in Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America as part of South America.

Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the furfural market in terms of revenue growth and market share owing to the high furfural production, especially in China. Moreover, the growth in several end-use industries such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food and beverages and refineries, in the economies of China, India, and Japan will further increase the demand of furfural in this region.

Europe is expected to be the fastest developing region during the forecast period of 2023-2030 because of increasing demand of furfural, particularly from foundry and chemical industry in this region.

The country section of the report also provides individual market impacting factors and changes in market regulation that impact the current and future trends of the market. Data points like down-stream and upstream value chain analysis, technical trends and porter's five forces analysis, case studies are some of the pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, the presence and availability of global brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, impact of domestic tariffs and trade routes are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.   

Competitive Landscape and Furfural Market Share Analysis

The furfural market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to furfural market.

Some of the major players operating in the furfural market are:

• ILLOVO SUGAR AFRICA (South Africa)
• TransFurans Chemicals bvba (Belgium)
• hebeichem (China)
• KRBL (India)
• Silvateam S.p.a. (China)
• LENZING AG (Austria)
• Hongye Holding Group Corporation Limited (China)
• Tanin d.d. (U.S.)
• Pennakem, LLC (U.S.)
• Hefei Tnj Chemical Industry (China)
• TCI Chemicals (India) Pvt. Ltd. (India)
• BEIJING LYS CHEMICALS CO., LTD. (China)
• Laxmi Furals Pvt Ltd (India)