challenges in China and the United States will likely drive down domestic demand and potentially push the supply of chemicals and other products towards international markets. Additionally, drought will drive up the costs of agricultural products, which may dampen the demand for natural and renewable feedstocks and prompt downstream producers to delay their decision to transition to or adopt fatty alcohol ethoxylate products derived from natural sources (fatty alcohols derived from plant oils) in the development of new products or their current production in order to reduce feedstock costs and gain a competitive edge. Demand for basic oleochemicals and specialty oleochemicals are expected to grow compared to 2023 as every region sees an economic recovery and customers are beginning to normalize their inventory levels. Market Overview - Performance Chemicals Market Overview in 2023 Demand for coating resins, hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), and HDI derivatives in Q1/2023 stabilized to the same level as in Q4/2022 due to a macroeconomic slump and a slowdown in other industries, coupled with the fact that demand in Asia, especially in China, had not returned to the normal level. However, there were signs of a slight recovery in the remaining quarters of 2023, driven by positive signals in some downstream industries, such as the automotive sector. However, the overall economic recovery was not as robust as anticipated, keeping the demand for these products lower than the overall level seen in 2022. The economic slowdown also exerted pressure on the market for specialty polyamide (PA9T) and high-performance thermoplastic elastomers (HSBC) products, which commenced commercial production in Q1/2023. Market Forecast for 2024 Demand for coating resins, HDI, HDI derivatives, PA9T, and HSBC is projected to trend upward compared to 2023 and will see higher growth rates than the overall GDP. The recovery rate of the business will depend on the rebound of the downstream industries, such as the automotive industry. However, fiercer price competition is projected, especially from manufacturers in the Asian region with lower production costs. 77 PTT GLOBAL CHEMICAL PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED Form 56-1 One Report 2023
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