# Starch and cellulose derivatives: Overview

Custard, cardboard and cough tablets: starch's hidden jobs

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/overview/

Custard, cardboard and cough tablets: starch's hidden jobs What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.

Starch is the plant's stored sugar, extracted by wet milling maize or rasping cassava and potatoes. Sold native, modified by heat or chemicals, or broken down into glucose syrups, it thickens food, sizes paper and textiles, binds tablets and feeds fermentation for ethanol, amino acids and PLA. Cellulose derivatives such as CMC and HPMC, made from wood pulp or cotton linters, do similar thickening jobs. The global maize starch business was about $45 billion and 84.5 Mt in 2023 (Sanstar DRHP data). India has 5.8-6.5 Mt of starch capacity and is a leading maize starch exporter.
 Volume maize starch and derivatives about 84.5 Mt (2023); native starch about 60 Mt (derived: food 42 Mt at 70.1%); cellulose derivatives not published Market value maize starch about $45 billion (2023); native starch and co-products $29 billion; modified starch $15.6 billion; India starch and derivatives $3.45 billion (2025) Growth maize starch about 4.25% a year to 2029; modified starch 5.11%; India 7.25% a year to $5.25 billion in 2031 (Mordor) Sanstar DRHP industry data via MoneyWorks4Me IPO review (2024); Mordor Intelligence via GII (India, 2026)

#### Key uses

| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Food and beverages (thickeners, sweeteners, bakery, confectionery, dairy, noodles)** | 70.1% | about 42 Mtbasis | Starch is the cheapest thickener and texturiser, and its hydrolysates (glucose, maltodextrin, HFCS) are the cheapest sweeteners. Modified starches survive heat, acid and freezing in processed food. Sanstar DRHP industry data via MoneyWorks4Me IPO review (2024) | Gums (guar, xanthan) Cellulose ethers Sugar |
| **Paper and board (surface sizing, wet-end, corrugating adhesive)** | 15% | about 9.0 Mtbasis | Cationic and oxidised starches add strength to paper and board, and native starch glues corrugated board; e-commerce packaging lifts demand. indicative; India share from Sanstar DRHP industry data via MoneyWorks4Me IPO review (2024) | Synthetic sizing agents (AKD, ASA) PVOH |
| **Textiles, adhesives and other industrial (sizing, construction, oilfield, bioplastics)** | 9% | about 5.4 Mtbasis | Warp sizing protects yarn during weaving; starch ethers retard plaster; starch blends make compostable films. indicative | PVA sizing Cellulose ethers Synthetic polymers |
| **Pharma, personal care and fermentation feedstock sold as starch** | 5.9% | about 3.5 Mtbasis | Tablet binders and disintegrants, dusting powders; glucose for amino acid, citric and PLA fermentation is often counted inside the sweetener volume. derived; indicative | Microcrystalline cellulose Lactose |
| **Cellulose derivatives (CMC, MC, HPMC, HEC) in construction, food, pharma, detergents, drilling** | n/a | not publishedbasis | Cellulose ethers thicken tile adhesives and mortars, coat tablets, stabilise ice cream and suspend drilling mud; CMC (HS 391231) is the largest by tonnage (indicative). indicative | Starch ethers Gums Synthetic thickeners |

 Only the food share of global native starch (70.1%, about 42 Mt) and Indian end-use shares (food 30%, paper 23.4%, textiles 16.8%) are sourced (Sanstar DRHP data). Other global shares are indicative. Cellulose derivatives are listed without a share because their volume is not published in sources reached.

#### From raw material to user

1. **Crops** Maize (world output about 1,331 Mt in 2025/26), cassava (341.9 Mt of roots in 2024), wheat and potatoes; in India 10-15% of maize goes to starch (maize and cassava tiles; Sanstar DRHP).
2. **Wet milling or rasping** Maize is steeped, ground and separated into starch (about two-thirds of the kernel), gluten, fibre and germ; cassava roots give about 1 kg starch per 4-5 kg (cassava tile, indicative).
3. **Modification** Native starch is pregelatinised, acid-thinned, oxidised, cross-linked or etherified (cationic, hydroxypropyl) for specific functions.
4. **Hydrolysis** Enzymes convert starch to maltodextrin, glucose syrup, dextrose, HFCS and sorbitol, and to glucose for fermentation.
5. **Cellulose derivatives** Wood pulp or cotton linters are treated with caustic soda and monochloroacetic acid (CMC) or methyl chloride and propylene oxide (MC, HPMC).

#### Made from (commodity table)
[Mz Maize](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/maize/)[Csv Cassava](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cassava/)[Tm Timber](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lumber/)[Ct Cotton](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/)

#### Three things to know

- Food takes about 70% of world native starch, about 42 Mt (Sanstar DRHP data, 2023).
- India has 5.8-6.5 Mt a year of starch capacity and exported about 478 kt of maize starch in 2022, a 14.3% world share (Sanstar DRHP data).
- Starch is the sugar platform for bio-based chemicals: amino acids, citric acid, PLA and Gujarat Ambuja's new sodium gluconate plant all start from it.

#### Read the tabs
[Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/routes/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/production/)[Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/feedstocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/movement/)[Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/regulation/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/emissions/)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/links/index.md)