Middle East and Africa Soda Ash Market

Middle East and Africa Soda Ash Market Size (2024-2029):

The Middle East contributes to more than 3.4% of the global liquids production and the Soda Ash market in this area is expected to witness steady growth. The African soda ash market is also anticipated to record steady growth in the future.

Middle East and Africa Soda Ash Market Drivers and Restraints:

Baking soda is manufactured from light soda ash, which is used in poultry for animal feed, fire extinguishers, vegetable cleaning processes, blasting of metals, production of chemicals, oral care products, deodorizers, and personal care products to name a few. Recently, the MEA’s soda ash market’s growth is driven by its various applications. Sodium carbonate heptahydrate is extensively used by the brick industry as a moistening agent to decrease the amount of water needed to extrude the clay. Due to its properties such as a high melting point, and stable but hygroscopic solid, soda ash is highly utilized in industrial manufacturing. These distinct characteristics are likely to support the demand for the soda ash market in the MEA in the future.

The naturally forming soda ash is mined from an ore called trona. Excess use of this ore can bound the manufacturing opportunities of soda ash which is one of the major factors holding back the growth of the market. Exhaustion of natural resources on earth distresses the mineral ores. As Trona ore gets exploited, it can affect the manufacturing process that can cause a reduction of soda ash and thus causing a rise in the price for the process.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Middle East and African Soda Ash Market:

Coronavirus has exposed severe challenges for the soda ash market by impacting production and distribution in end-user sectors. Major economies of the Middle East and Africa are affected due to the pandemic combined with the existing hostile socio-economic conditions plagued with civil wars and terrorism. The Soda Ash market, however, saw subdued growth in this period owing to the increased sanitation activities which became mandatory in almost all workplaces but with absolutely no demand from the natural gas and oil industry, the Soda Ash market suffered from it. The construction works were halted and the demand for Soda Ash dropped. The normal growth in this business is estimated to resume to normalcy after the pandemic.

Middle East and Africa Soda Ash Market Key Developments:

• Solvents shook hands with the HCS group to complete the acquisition of the HC fluid business, including all the assets and employees.
• In 2020, Solvay opened its second sustainable plant in Brazil. The capacity of bio-based solvents increased to 20,000 tonnes a year from 6,000.

Market Segmentation Analysis:

Middle East and Africa Soda Ash Market - By Application:

• Glass
• Soaps & Detergents
• Water Treatment
• Chemicals
• Pulp & Paper
• Metallurgy

The household sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the Middle East and African region in terms of consumption of Soda Ash. The growth rate has been recorded at 3% annually and shows promising signs to improve the growth post the COVID-19 pandemic in turn improving the Soda Ash market.

The automotive sector is also growing in the MEA region and it is expected to boost the Soda Ash market in the aforementioned region. Countries such as Turkey and South Africa have made significant contributions to the global Soda Ash market and this feat can be accredited to the sustainable development goals taken by the local governments by incorporating clean technology. Soda ash is widely used in the cleaning of aluminium cleaning and dyeing.

Middle East and Africa Soda Ash Market Key Players:

1. Solvay AS
2. Tronox Ltd.
3. Solventis
4. Zagros Petrochemical Company
5. Croda International
6. Methanex Corporations