Masterbatch producers in China

According to a new report from AMI (Applied Market Information) the masterbatch market in China is one of the most dynamic in the world. It has recorded a double-digit growth over recent years and, despite the global recession, continues to advance at around 8%/year in volume terms. The report estimates there are at least 500 masterbatch producers in China. Most of them are small-scale, locally-based suppliers. Even so, unlike plastics processing, the Chinese production of masterbatch is more concentrated in the hands of the leading players, which accounted for approximately 50% of the 2008 output. In volume terms the largest is Cabot Plastics, while in value terms the leading producer is Ngai Hing Hong. While there is a clear trend to make greater use of masterbatch, many Chinese processors continue to use dry blends and pigments in significant quantities, especially in sectors where issues of quality may not be of a major concern. The switch to masterbatch is often hard to achieve in the face of the cost-effectiveness and simplicity of these traditional colouring practices. This method tends to be used in products for the local market. Increasingly though as standards, quality and colour matching requirements improve so companies are expected to make greater use of masterbatch. Another feature of the masterbatch industry in China is that most plants are serving local markets. Each province also has its own commercial structure and there does not yet exist a homogenous "Chinese market".