The craze for water-based paint has been very popular since last year and continues to be so. However, if we talk about the peak period, it is believed to be during the Two Sessions. This is because during the Two Sessions, people are focused on potential adjustments in environmental protection policies. Last year, a wave of environmental regulations caused manufacturing companies in industries like paint and furniture to feel like they were caught in a whirlpool. These companies had been operating normally, but the sudden environmental inspections disrupted their plans, prompting some to simply ‘pause’ their operations. Indeed, the balance between action and rest is important; ‘taking a pause’ may not necessarily be a bad thing, but prolonged pauses are essentially equivalent to waiting for disaster. Therefore, after the Two Sessions, everyone watches closely, hoping to gain useful information to reverse their previously passive situation.
In recent years, ‘air pollution’ has become a frequently mentioned term in local government work reports, and this year’s provincial-level local Two Sessions are no exception. This year, multiple provinces, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, have set clear air quality targets. Among the many pollutants that cause air pollution, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are key precursors to ozone formation. VOCs react with nitrogen oxides under ultraviolet light in complex nonlinear reactions, leading to the accumulation of tropospheric ozone and, under stable meteorological conditions, causing urban photochemical smog—a growing problem in many Chinese cities.
VOCs emissions come from numerous industries, including printing, paint, furniture manufacturing, and more. As a result, environmental regulations have become stricter after the Two Sessions. For example, starting in April this year, Xi’an banned the sale of high-volatility, toxic, and harmful diluents on the market, increased monitoring and regulation of VOC content in decorative paints sold in the city, mandated the use of water-based paints for interior and exterior walls of residential buildings, encouraged the use of water-based paints in home renovations, restricted and phased out certain types of paints, and strictly prohibited the use of solvent-based paints. Additionally, on construction sites throughout the city, the spraying of solvent-based paints and similar coatings is forbidden. At this point, it is likely that everyone feels confident about the future of water-based paints. If this still doesn’t fill you with confidence, let me share some encouraging data.
A recent research report indicates that the water-based coatings market is expected to reach 32.71 million tons by 2022, with a total market value of approximately $146.1 billion, growing at an annual average rate of 6% over six years. The Asia-Pacific region’s water-based paint market is expected to grow at the fastest rate of 7.9% from 2016 to 2022. The main drivers of demand growth in this region are infrastructure projects in India, China, and Indonesia. By 2022, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to surpass Europe as the largest market for water-based paints.