Soy chem to reach $2.7bn in 2013

I forgot to add this report to my last soy post about soybean-based chemicals demand expected to increase 7.8%/year to $2.7 billion by 2013 according to Freedonia Group.

Methyl soyate used in biodiesel is said to be by far the most established soy chemical although it is beginning to face competition from other raw materials. Methyl soyate is also finding greater use as a solvent in cleaning products and paints and coatings.

"Other soy oil derivatives, such as polyols, will benefit from corporate initiatives to use more renewable feedstocks, as well as from consumer demand for more greener products particularly in the plastics (foam products), and paint and coatings market. Intense research and development activities will further fuel growth in soybean oil derivatives as new products enter the market over the next 5 years." - Freedonia

As long as soy chemicals performance is on par or better with their petrochemical-based counterparts, and with crude oil/petrochemical prices remain relatively high, Freedonia said the market penetration for soy chemicals will likely continue to expand.

				% Annual Growth
	2003	2008	2013	2003-2008	2008-2013
Soy Chemicals Demand	493	1873	2730	30.6	7.8
Biodiesel	26	1135	1510	112.8	5.9
Food and Beverages	256	308	425	3.8	6.7
Plastics	128	189	365	8.1	14.1
Others	83	241	430	23.8	12.3