The entire demand for styrene is met through imports due to lack of any production facilities within the country. This makes the demand susceptible to international fluctuations in prices as well in its availability. Benzene, the primary feedstock for styrene, has a direct influence on the supply of styrene to India since feedstock prices determine the prevalent market dynamics.

Due to lack of production facilities, India is entirely dependent on imports from other countries to meet its growing styrene demand. An abrupt change in international prices therefore, harshly affects domestic users in the country. Since there are no plans of any capacity initiations in the near future, international producers hold an extraordinary grip on the domestic market.

Styrene is relatively inexpensive to move and hence, widely exchanged between different regions. Asia currently accounts for more than half of global styrene demand and is expected to remain the global styrene growth driver. Continued industrial development, population growth and rising income levels are key drivers, all of which are dominant in the upcoming Asian markets and in India. Industrial development in China continues to have substantial influence on regional styrene demand.

Styrene demand remains dominated by its main derivative, polystyrene, and this industry has reached its maturity in several developed countries of the west. Styrene demand in America and Europe has, therefore, declined in recent years due to reduced levels of manufacturing and material substitution in packaging.

Polystyrene consumption continues to come under pressure from substitutes such as polypropylene and PET from both cost and performance perspective. Global demand for polystyrene will increase at a moderate annual growth rate of 2.4% over the period of 2017 to 2021. Other important applications of styrene in the global market include production of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) resins, styrene-butadiene (SB) copolymer latexes and unsaturated polyester.

Highlights of the Report

Purchase of IPC's Report includes:

•  Soft Copy of the report in pdf format
•  1 Year access to IPC's price database for polyethylene
•  1 Year access to indianpetrochem.com news and analysis (Login Id/Password)
•  One free report update (Reports are updated half-yearly or yearly)
•  Access to IPC analysts and experts for queries/explanations regarding the report
•  Hard Copy of the report available at extra cost

Purchase of the report entitles you to avail discounts on the following products:

•  Database of chemicals and petrochemicals daily prices
•  Monthly Market Advisory Services
•  Industry database
•  Chemical and Petrochemical project database