Acrylic acid: Production
How China came to make almost half of it
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | about 9-10 Mt/yr globally (indicative) | indicative (industry estimates; Chemical Market Analytics database not public) | |
| World output | about 7 Mt (2025, indicative) | indicative | |
| Capacity utilisation | about 70-75% (indicative) | Chinese additions have kept utilisation low since 2020 (indicative). | indicative |
| Concentration | China about 47% of capacity; top 5 companies about 40% (indicative) | BASF is the largest producer, followed by Nippon Shokubai, Arkema, Dow, LG Chem, Formosa and Chinese producers such as Satellite Chemical, Wanhua and Shanghai Huayi (indicative). | indicative |
| New capacity | mainly Chinese additions; India's IOCL 90 kt/yr | BASF expanded tert-butyl acrylate at Nanjing (2021) and AA/butyl acrylate at Kuantan (2018); Arkema added 90 kt/yr at Clear Lake (2020) (Future Market Insights). China continues to add integrated AA-ester capacity near PDH plants (indicative). | Future Market Insights via Docswell 2025; Tecnimont 2020; indicative |
Top producing countries
China 47% · about 4.5 Mt/yr (indicative) United States 13% · about 1.3 Mt/yr (indicative) Germany and Belgium 10% · about 1 Mt/yr (indicative) Japan 7% · about 0.7 Mt/yr (indicative) South Korea 6% · about 0.6 Mt/yr (indicative) Malaysia / Saudi Arabia / Taiwan 9% · about 0.3 Mt/yr each (indicative) indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BASF largest; Ludwigshafen, Antwerp, Freeport, Nanjing (with Sinopec), Kuantan (with Petronas) | Germany | not published | 2025 | BASF |
| Nippon Shokubai Japan, Indonesia, Belgium; major SAP maker | Japan | not published | 2025 | Nippon Shokubai |
| Arkema total capacity not published here | France | 0.09 Mt/yr new reactor at Clear Lake, Texas | 2020 | Future Market Insights via Docswell 2025 |
| Dow not published | US | not published | 2025 | Dow |
| LG Chem AA and SAP (not published) | South Korea | not published | 2025 | LG Chem |
| Satellite Chemical one of China's largest (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | company |
| Formosa Plastics not published | Taiwan | not published | 2025 | company |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Oil Corporation Dumad near Vadodara, Gujarat; 26 months to mechanical completion | India | 0.09 Mt/yr acrylic acid (plus 0.15 Mt/yr butyl acrylate) | contract 2020; commissioning status not confirmed | Tecnimont press release via Hydrocarbon Processing, Jan 2021 |
India has had no world-scale acrylic acid production; IOCL's Dumad project is the first. Demand for esters (paints, adhesives such as Asian Paints and Pidilite) and SAP (diaper makers) has been met by imports from China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and Saudi Arabia (indicative). McKinsey estimated India's 2025 acrylic acid demand at more than four world-scale plants.
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | About 13% of capacity; Arkema, Dow, BASF Freeport; US share of 2034 demand forecast at about $2.5 billion (Future Market Insights). |
| EU | BASF and Arkema; high energy costs. |
| India | Import-dependent for AA, esters and SAP; IOCL Dumad is the first local source. |
| China | About half of capacity; exports esters to India and Southeast Asia. |
| Japan | Nippon Shokubai is a global SAP leader. |
| Middle East | Saudi Acrylic Monomer (SAMCA, Tasnee/Sahara) supplies AA and esters (indicative). |