Foreign companies dominate the global m-cresol market, and my country’s market has large room for substitution.

The demand for m-cresol is mainly concentrated in the fields of medicine, pesticides, spices and other fields. Medicine is the main demand field for m-cresol, followed by the pesticide field. In 2020, the global demand for m-cresol will be around 52,000 tons, and the demand in the pharmaceutical field will account for more than 43%. In the pharmaceutical field, m-cresol is mainly used to produce vitamin E. Currently, companies around the world that use m-cresol as an intermediate to produce vitamin E include DSM, Beisha Pharmaceutical, Zhejiang Pharmaceutical, etc.

Meta-cresol, also known as m-cresol, is an important chemical intermediate and an important raw material for the production of pesticides, medicines, spices, synthetic vitamins, antioxidants, etc. At room temperature, m-cresol is a colorless or light yellow liquid, slightly soluble in water, and soluble in ethanol, ether, sodium hydroxide and other solvents. As a fine chemical, m-cresol has a wide range of applications. In recent years, thanks to the release of downstream market demand, my country’s market consumption of m-cresol has continued to increase.

According to the “Cresol Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospects Forecast Analysis Report 2022-2026 released by the Industrial Research Center, the global The m-cresol market is highly concentrated, with the combined production capacity of American Sasol, Germany’s Lanxess, and Japan’s Mitsui Group accounting for more than 75%. The production process of m-cresol includes extraction method and synthesis method. At present, there is still a large gap between my country’s m-cresol production level and foreign countries. Affected by synthesis and separation technology, m-cresol production capacity is not enough to meet the domestic market demand. Part of the demand for m-cresol still relies on imports.

At this stage, my country’s m-cresol production companies include Haihua Technology, Dongying Haiyuan Chemical, Anhui Shilian, Chengxing Chemical, etc. Among them, Haihua Technology is the largest m-cresol production company in China. In 2020, Haihua Technology was acquired by Huilong Co., Ltd. acquisition. At present, Haihua Technology has a m-cresol production capacity of 8,000 tons, and related production capacity under construction of 10,000 tons. As the new production capacity is successfully put into operation, Haihua Technology’s market share will further increase, and its voice in the international market will also be enhanced.

In 2019, Germany’s Lanxess m-cresol production unit was converted to menthol production, reducing overseas supply capacity. At the same time, in 2019 and 2021, my country’s Ministry of Commerce issued announcements on anti-dumping investigations into imported m-cresol originating in the United States, the European Union and Japan. Thanks to the advancement of anti-dumping work and the reduction of overseas supply capacity, domestic m-cresol companies are expected to usher in good development opportunities, which will help promote domestic substitution of m-cresol.

Industry analysts said that as a fine chemical, m-cresol has a wide range of applications. Currently, medicine, pesticides and spices are its main applications. Scenes. The m-cresol market is highly concentrated. At this stage, foreign companies still dominate the global m-cresol market. Part of my country’s demand for m-cresol still relies on imports. However, with the advancement of anti-dumping work and the commissioning of domestic related projects, the localization of m-cresol The rate will continue to increase.