2025 Taiwan Industrial Outlook - Petrochemical and Specialty Chemical Industry

In 2024, the global petrochemical industry remains at a low point in its business cycle. However, the global GDP growth rate still reaches 3.5%, with developing countries in Asia and emerging economies growing at a pace above the global average. This has gradually driven up demand for petrochemical products to 911.9 million metric tons, representing an annual growth rate of 3.7%. Nevertheless, the dumping of surplus Mainland China products into neighboring Asian markets has led to a collapse in prices and generally poor industry revenues. The plastic sector in Asia has been particularly affected, often operating at a loss.