India’s Caustic Soda plant capacity is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% from 3.751 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2017 to 5.032 mtpa in 2022, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s report: ‘Caustic Soda Industry Outlook in India to 2022 – Market Size, Company Share, Price Trends, Capacity Forecasts of All Active and Planned Plants’ reveals that 10 upcoming projects are expected to commence their production by 2022. Some of the major projects are – GACL-NALCO Alkalies and Chemicals Dahej Caustic Soda Plant, Kutch Chemical Industries Gandhidham Caustic Soda Plant, and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Bhavnagar Caustic Soda Plant, with a capacity of 0.270 mtpa, 0.216 mtpa and 0.198 mtpa, respectively.

The largest Caustic Soda plants in India in 2017 were Shriram Alkali & Chemicals Bharuch Caustic Soda Plant, Grasim Industries Nagda Caustic Soda Plant, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Dahej Caustic Soda Plant, Grasim Industries Bharuch Caustic Soda Plant and Nirma Kalatalav Caustic Soda Plant.

Vinuthna Bidar, Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, explains: “Caustic Soda industry in India is expected to have capacity additions to meet the growing demand from the textile and alumina sectors and reduce the imports.”

IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION – Please click this link for the chart: ‘Total Caustic Soda Plant Capacity in India (mtpa), 2008-2022’

Aditya Birla Management Corp Pvt Ltd, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd, DCM Shriram Ltd, Nirma Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd together accounted for 57.6% of the total Caustic Soda capacity in India in 2017.

The main sectors that consume Caustic Soda in India are Textile, Organic Chemicals, Alumina, Paper and Pulp, Soaps and Detergents, Inorganic Chemicals, and Water Treatment. In 2017, these sectors accounted for almost 76.1% of the demand in the country.

The average price of Caustic Soda in India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 3.1% from $528.3/Tonne in 2017 to $614.1/Tonne in 2022.

Between 2008 and 2017, India had been a net importer of Caustic Soda. According to GlobalData, India is expected to be a net exporter with exports being higher than imports until 2022.

Imports as percentage of demand in 2008 was 3.7%. GlobalData forecasts imports as percentage of demand to decrease from 7.5% in 2017 to 1.9% in 2022.