Furfural Market - Industry Dynamics, Market Size, And Opportunity Forecast To 2027

Global Furfural Market is projected to reach US$ 840.65 Mn by 2027 from US$ 508.38 Mn in 2021. The market is registering growth at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period 2022-2027. In terms of volume, the market was valued at 427.82-kilo tons in 2021 and is registering a CAGR of 8.5% over the forecast period. 

Furfural is an organic compound with the formula C4H3OCHO. It is a colorless liquid, although commercial samples are often brown. Furfural is an important renewable, non-petroleum-based, chemical feedstock. It can be converted into a variety of solvents, polymers, fuels, and other useful chemicals by a range of catalytic reductions. Furfural is obtained from sugarcane bagasse, corncob, rice husk, sunflower hull, and other agricultural residues. Furfural and its derivatives have been used as fungicides and nematicides, transportation fuels, furfuryl alcohols, gasoline additives, solvents, resins, decolorizing agents, and insecticides among others.

The market is majorly driven by factors such as growing furfuryl alcohol demand from various industries and rapid growth of the construction industry in developing nations. Hydrogenation of furfural provides furfuryl alcohol (FA), which is used to produce furan resins, which are exploited in thermoset polymer matrix composites, cement, adhesives, casting resins, and coatings. Further hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol leads to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), which is used as a solvent in agricultural formulations and as an adjuvant to help herbicides penetrate the leaf structure. With a growing population and a concern for renewable materials, Asia-Pacific maintains the largest proportion of the market for furfuryl alcohol consumption and manufacturing. Furthermore, the rapid growth of the construction industry is expected to augment the demand for furfural for use in various refractory materials such as fiberglass composites, ceramics, and bricks in the near future. Moreover, furfural has gained a lot of attention in recent years as a potential platform for producing biofuels and biochemicals. Depletion of fossil fuel resources is driving the demand for sustainable products, which in turn, is boosting the demand for furfural worldwide. However, furfural production is now characterized by obsolete manufacturing technology, high steam consumption, and high acid consumption, all of which result in a low product yield or output. Therefore, many companies are concentrating their efforts on developing new processes that will reduce overall energy usage while increasing product yield throughout the purifying process.

Report Summary

The study of the global furfural market considers various market determinants, industry value chain analysis, and competitor analysis of the market. The report discusses the analysis of the furfural industry for the period 2017-2027, where the base year is 2021 and the forecast period is 2022-2027. The report provides a detailed analysis of the Global Furfural Market across 14 Chapters and 193 pages. The report includes data presentation across 54 tables and 66 statistical figures. The research report also provides Porter’s five forces analysis wherein the bargaining power of buyers is high. 

The subsequent section provides details of the market analysis based on different segments such as raw material, application, end-users, and region. The report also includes a detailed study of the value chain of the industry. It includes raw material providers, manufacturers, distributors, and end-users. The report also covers extensively the key competitors in the Global Furfural Market. 

Key Takeaways from the Global Furfural Market Report

• Based on raw materials, the corncob segment holds the highest share in the Global Furfural Market in 2021 and is further estimated to continue its dominance over the forecast period. Corncob is the middle part of the maize on which the kernels are grown. Corncob is generally the desired product because it has the highest hemicellulose content (30%-35%) among all the proven raw materials for furfural.
• In terms of application, furfuryl alcohol has the highest share in the furfural market in 2021 as furfuryl alcohol is majorly used for the production of furan resin that is used as a foundry sand binder. The growth of the foundry industry is expected to increase the demand for foundry resins. The resins application segment has the highest CAGR over the projection period.
• Petroleum refineries are the highest-end users of the Global Furfural Market in 2021 and are also projected to dominate over the forecast period. Today all major oil companies use furfural as a selective solvent in the refining of lubricating oils.
• The Asia Pacific dominates the Global Furfural Market with a maximum share of 80% in 2021. The region also registers the highest CAGR over the forecast period. This is attributed to the high production of furfural in the region, especially in China, and growth in several end-use industries including agriculture, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and refinery.

Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 had a negative impact on Global Furfural Market growth. Stringent rules and restrictions during COVID halted the operations of the chemical and construction industries. Hence, the demand for furfural reduced during the pandemic. The whole value chain ranging from raw material supply and manufacturing to marketing had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the travel restrictions in developed and emerging economies had an immediate effect on the demand for petroleum that declined rapidly during the outbreak, resulting in the stagnation of the petrochemical industry. Moreover, the industry's overdependence on China for raw materials had a negative impact during the pandemic. However, the industry is estimated to recover in the medium to long run.

Competitive Landscape

The key players in the Global Furfural Market are Hebeichem, Hongye Holding Group Corporation Limited, Transfuran Chemicals, Tieling North Furfural (Group) Co. Ltd., Shanghai Huiyingtong International Trading Co., Ltd., and KRBL among others. Through extensive research, it is found that big players have adopted various competitive strategies such as mergers & acquisitions in order to have a grip in the stabilized market scenarios. Furthermore, leading companies are expanding their geographical boundaries by acquiring small brands and domestic companies.

Segmentation Overview

The following are the different segments of the Global Furfural Market report:

By Raw Material segment of the Global Furfural Market is sub-segmented into:

• Sugarcane Bagasse
• Corncob
• Rice Husk
• Sunflower Hull
• Others

 By Application segment of the Global Furfural Market is sub-segmented into:

• Furfuryl Alcohol
• Solvent
• Resins
• Gasoline Additives
• Fungicides
• Flavor Enhancers
• Decolorizing Agents
• Agricultural Raw Materials
• Others

By End User segment of the Global Furfural Market is sub-segmented into:

• Petroleum Refineries
• Agricultural Formulations
• Pharmaceuticals
• Paints & Coatings
• Lubricants Industry
• Cement Industry
• Energy Sector
• Adhesives
• Food and Beverages Industry
• Others

By Region segment of the Global Furfural Market is sub-segmented into:

• North America
  • The U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
• Western Europe
  • The UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Western Europe
• Eastern Europe
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Rest of Eastern Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia & New Zealand
  • ASEAN
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Rest of the World
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Rest of South America
  • GCC
  • South Africa
  • Rest of MEA