Global consumption of chemical salt to grow by 3% annually by 2015

24 June 2011 08:27  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The global consumption of chemical salt is projected to grow by 3% annually in 2009-2015, driven by the growth in demand in the chlor-alkali industry, an industry executive said on Friday.

Asia will lead the increase in global salt consumption, which is growing at a compounded annual rate of 4.8% in 2009-2015, said Alejandro Felice, head of the international division at salt producer, Sociedad Punta de Lobos (SPL).

The region is estimated to account for almost half of the world’s salt consumption by 2015, Felicie said.

Felicie was speaking at The 15th World Chlor-Alkali Conference in Singapore, which runs from 23-24 June.

Asia’s consumption of salt grew by around 4% annually in 2000-2009, while salt consumption in Europe and North America fell by 0.6% and 2.1% respectively during the same period because of the effects of the global financial crisis, Felicie said.

Global chlor-alkali production is estimated to rise by 5% anually through 2015, which will drive the growth in salt consumption.

The chlor-alkali industry is the largest market for salt, accounting for around 35-40% of the world’s salt consumption, according to Felicie.

The global production of chlor-alkali will be led by China, where production is estimated to grow by 8% a year until 2015 because of the country’s increased expenditure in its construction sector, he said.

North America and Europe will see their chlor-alkali production growing by about 3% annually until 2015, Felicie added.

The global growth in chlor-alkali production will result in an additional demand for chemical salt of 30m tonnes until 2015, according to Felicie.

By: Nurluqman Suratman

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