Soda Ash Market - Industry Dynamics, Market Size, and Opportunity Forecast to 2025

Global Soda Ash Market was valued at approximately US$ 13.9 Bn in 2020 and is expected to grow to more than US$ 26 Bn by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 13.9% in terms of revenue. In terms of volume, the market was valued at around 58.4 million tons in 2020, which is anticipated to cross 82.6 million tons by the end of 2025. The outbreak of pandemic due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus has resulted in reduced sales of soda ash owing to disruption in the supply chain. 

Soda ash is used as a key ingredient in the form of raw material across various industry sectors such as glass manufacturing, detergent, and soap manufacturing, pulp and paper, and agriculture. Some key applications are:

• Glass manufacturing uses soda ash as a key raw material and holds ~50% of the share in the global consumption of soda ash. Due to significant shareholding in the consumption pie and constant growth in demand of various glass forms such as hollow glass, flat glass, tableware, technical glass, solar glass, and smart glass, end-use industries positively impacts the demand for soda ash globally.
• Liquid soap acquires a moderate shareholding in the composition of different end-uses of soda ash, majorly owing to increasing awareness related to personal hygiene, thus driving consumption.
• In the agricultural sector, soda ash is used as a natural fertilizer to add nutrients to the soil and improve the soil structure which in turn enhances its ability to hold water and nutrients in a better way.

Soda ash manufacturing uses Solvay Process as an ecologization method—formerly the manufacturing process used the Leblanc method. According to various studies conducted on soda ash heaps to check soil, the environment shows that long-time production of soda ash has an insignificant impact on the local soils due to the strong alkalinity of the waste. Soda ash manufacturing accounts for a key CO2 emitter among other industrial products such as alumina, plate glass, calcium carbide, and ammonia. Hence, harmful environmental impact due to soda ash manufacturing will negatively influence the overall market growth over the forecast period. 

Pricing Details:

Fluctuations in the pricing of soda ash have been observed in the last few years due to new market entrants with advanced manufacturing technologies; while existing players are striving to increase their production capacities to sustain in the growing competition. For instance, Turkey built a new Trona-based soda ash plant in Kazan with an annual production of 2.5 million tons. Later the same plant increased its production capacity to full by 2018. Additionally, the existing plant in Beypazari expanded its annual capacity by 0.5 million tons. This added capacity from the new and existing plants doubled the amount of annual Turkish production to over 5 million tons in 2019. 

Segment Analysis:

Based on the type category, the market for soda ash is segmented into synthetic and natural types. Type category illustrates the process of production adopted to produce soda ash. The production volume of natural soda ash is lesser as compared to synthetic due to the limited availability of reserves. Additionally, the processing of natural soda ash is way cheaper than synthetic soda due to the usage of lesser raw material as compared to synthetic soda ash production. 

Based on soda ash grade, the market is categorized into light, dense, and washing soda. Revenue generated from dense soda ash is more as compared to light soda ash, as it is a premium quality product that combines a consistently high sodium carbonate content with extremely low impurity levels of chlorides and iron. Dense soda ash is guaranteed to be 99.2% pure, but has a typical purity level of 99.8%, resulting in more products when compared to a lower assay soda ash. 

Regional Analysis

Geographically, the market for soda ash has scattered demand and supply distribution, primarily due to the high availability of natural limestone reserves in select countries. As a result, there is a sharp difference in capacity utilization and subsequently the prices, due to over-under production. Current global capacity utilization is averaged at 71% and is expected to rise back to the pre-covid industry average of 81% by mid, 2021.

Competitive Coverage: Company Profiles

The global soda ash market is observed to have an oligopoly nature and is projected to shift towards monopolistic nature due to the dominance of selected players owing to the high demand for soda ash in the market. Following is the list of manufacturers and a few suppliers profiled in the report which are operating in the market across the world:

Manufactures:

• CIECH SA (Poland)
• Ciner Resources Corporation (US)
• DCW Limited (India)
• Genesis Energy (Auckland)
• GHCL Limited (India)
• Hubei Yuhua (China)
• OCI Company Ltd. (South Korea)
• Nirma Ltd. (India)
• Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Japan)
• Shandong haihua (China)
• Sisecam (Turkey)
• Solvay SA (Belgium)
• Tata Chemicals Limited (India)

Suppliers:

• Ishtaar Company LLC (Dubai)
• KPL International (India)
• Weifang Haizhiyuan Chemistry and Industry Co., Ltd. (China)
• Trade House Bashkhim (Russia)

Market Definition

Soda ash or sodium carbonate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na₂CO₃. It is also known as washing soda or crystal soda. Traditionally, it was obtained from the ashes of the plants growing in sodium-rich soil and now it is produced by the Solvay process with sodium chloride and limestone. Sodium carbonate/ Soda Ash finds use across applications such as glass manufacturing, water softening, food additives, cooking, detergent manufacturing, and others. Production processes involved for sodium carbonate are mining, barilla & kelp, Leblanc, Solvay, and Hou’s process. 

The scope takes into consideration the volume of soda ash consumed by end-use industries while analyzing global production installed capacity and actual production. 

Market Taxonomy

The market is segmented based on type, grade, end-use, and geography.

By Type

• Synthetic
• Natural

By Grade

• Light
• Dense
• Washing Soda

By End-use

• Industrial
  • Dyes and Coloring Agents
  • Water & Wastewater
  • Glass
    • Flat
    • Container
    • Other
  • Fertilizers
  • Enameling
  • Energy & Mining
  • Glue 
  • Paper & Pulp
  • Soaps & Detergents
  • Food & Beverages
  • Others
• Automotive
• Electronics
• Power Generation
• Distributors
• Environmental

By Region

• North America
  • The US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Western Europe
    • Turkey
    • Bulgaria
    • The U.K.
    • Germany
    • France
    • Spain
    • Italy
    • Rest of Western Europe
  • Eastern Europe
    • Russia
    • Poland
    • Rest of Eastern Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia & New Zealand
  • ASEAN
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• South America
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Rest of South America
• Middle East & Africa
  • UAE
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Report – Benefits for Readers

Astute Analytica’s recent publication on the Soda Ash market provides audiences with a comprehensive and exhaustive market outlook, with the help of an in-depth assessment of the global market scenario. The study analyzes the industry growth trend for the historic and outlook, an understanding shift in growth lines due to impact of Coivd-19 pandemic.

Report readers can benefit by making informed decisions pertaining to their business with a wealth of information and exclusive insights included in the study. The report also provides an in-depth understanding of the key industry trends and developments undertaken by players in the market. This Astute Analytica research is divided into different sections, based on region, product type, and other relevant parameters.  This allows readers to gain access to individual sections of reports per se their interest in the soda ash market.

Key Queries Addressed in the Report

The report provides detailed information about the Soda Ash market based on comprehensive research on various factors that play a key role in accelerating the growth potential of the market. The information mentioned in the report answers path-breaking questions for companies that are currently functioning in the market and are looking for innovative ways to create a unique benchmark in the soda ash market to help them make successful strategies and take target-driven decisions.