Declining demand for conventional plastic drives Polyhydroxyalkanoates market sentiments

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) market sentiments have been witnessing continuous global growth due to the high demand for bioplastics. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are the polyesters produced by bacteria accompanied by sugar, glucose, or vegetable oil fermentation procedure. the ongoing stress between Russia and Ukraine has severely impacted commodity prices globally, including corn, sugarcane, soybean, and sunflower oil. This aspect proportionally affects the prices of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA).

The trembling demand for common conventional plastics has impacted the market sentiments toward Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) because of their adverse effects on the environment and people's health. In the North American region, the market sentiments of PHA are driven by the availability and supply of feed, corn, and sugarcane in the regional market. The shortage of feed has forced the manufacturers to increase the production cost regionally. The forest fire occurred after the lighting in the North American region became the root cause of temperature increase, leading to more consumption of energy. As a result, the major players have limited availability of fuel and a shortage of natural gas to produce PHA to cater to the domestic demand from downstream sectors. Additionally, frenzy behaviours of products in US ports have led to congestion due to container and labour shortages, especially after the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Furthermore, in the Asia-Pacific region, the focus on the applications of PHA that are biocompatible, and biodegradable has brought light to PHA consumption in the regional market. Downstream sectors such as food packaging, medical implants, coating, and others have driven the market of PHA. In major countries like China, the demand arose after the imposition of lockdown due to Covid infection. The consumption of single-use plastic became a priority to reduce infection. Furthermore, overcrowding of containers at the major ports of China has resulted in a supply shortage, forcing the manufacturers to increase the production cost, consequently impacting the prices of PHA. These facets have proportionally affected the market sentiments of PHA in the global market.

As per ChemAnalyst, the market of Polyhydroxyalkanoates may continue to follow the uptrend owing to its high feedstock prices and robust demand from downstream sectors. Its utmost application that it's being biodegradable in marine is combined with high production cost, impacting Polyhydroxyalkanoates prices globally.