Middle East and Africa Engineering Plastics Market

Middle East and African Engineering Plastic Market Size (2023-2028)

The Middle East and Africa Engineering Plastics market are expected to rise at a CAGR of more than 5%.

The market is growing due to rising purchasing power in countries and engineered plastics replacing conventional materials. The Middle East and Africa Engineering Plastics market are likely to benefit from the introduction of green vehicles as a key to future growth.

Engineering plastics are considered as high-performance polymer materials that outperform common plastics primarily including PVC, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene in terms of mechanical and thermal qualities. Moreover, owing to its unique characteristics, which primarily include flame resistance, chemical resistance, stability,  wear resistance, exceptional machinability, dimension constancy,  and minimal damaging friction, it has a wide range of applications in various industries, including automotive, building, and construction, mechanical, aerospace, and medical. Engineering plastics have been effectively replacing other engineering materials such as wood and metal, capitalizing on the industrial trend of light-weighting, and their global market size is evaluated at over $79716 million as of 2018.

Engineering plastics are adaptable plastic materials with excellent physical and electrical features such as stability, chemical resistance, heat resistance, abrasion resistance, and weather ability. As a result of these traits, they have become one of the plastics industry's fastest-growing segments. Because of ongoing innovations in the plastics industry, metals and glass are gradually being replaced by lighter materials. Moreover, owing to their lightweight and great strength, polyamides are utilized to replace metal vehicle gear shift modules. Metal replacement is significant in the automobile industry because it allows for lighter vehicles, more design freedom, easier part integration, and lower total system costs. The growing trend of reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel efficiency, combined with metal substitution in the construction and electrical & electronics industries, are major factors driving Middle East and Africa engineering plastics market expansion. Furthermore, as engineering plastics are generally used through injection molding into desired end products, the demand for engineering plastics is supplied by expansion in end-user industries.

Recent Developments in the Middle East and Africa Engineering Plastics Market:

• In 2020, the Italian household company De’Loghi started using BASF SE’s polyethersulfone (PESU) for their coffee machine. The adoption came after the latter’s plastic product imposed superior properties and high resistance to temperature.

• In October 2019, SABIC launched the TRUCIRCLE initiative and solutions, showcased at K 2019, along with their top-of-the-line flagship certified circular polymers from the chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste, certified renewable polymers, its new polycarbonate (PC) based on certified renewable feedstock and mechanically recycled polymers.

Drivers and Restraints of the MEA Engineering Plastics Market

Engineering plastic is widely used in the automotive sector. The major goal for many market players has become to reduce vehicle weight and improve the efficiency of the vehicle. Engineering plastic provides a robust solution to this problem at a relatively cheap cost. Another sector where engineered plastic is used is the electronics sector. A lot of cell phone manufacturers are adopting engineered plastic as their preferred material for their mobile devices and computers. The increase in the adoption of plastic by these industries is a very good impetus to the engineering plastic industry and the market in the Middle East and Africa region.

The environmental effects of plastics are very well known, as a result of this, various governments have instructed the industries to decrease their consumption of plastic and come up with alternate solutions that are environmentally friendly. Amidst this, the engineered plastic market suffered, as many mobile manufacturers are now adopting glass or aluminum as their primary material for their devices.  

MEA Engineering Plastic market has been segmented into the following categories:

On the basis of Type

1. Polycarbonate

2. Fluoropolymers

3. Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC)

4. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

5. Polyamide

6. ABS

On the basis of Application

1. Automotive and Transportation

2. Electrical and Electronics

3. Industrial Machinery

4. Packaging

5. Consumer Appliances

Geographical Overview and Regional Presence

• Saudi Arabia is the Middle East's leading manufacturer of engineering plastics, based on present and planned production facilities. Saudi Arabia has the highest healthcare expenditure in the GCC region, and there is a growing demand for increased hospital bed capacity and long-term care facilities. The government's rising healthcare expenditures, as well as the privatization of numerous state institutions, are likely to fuel the demand for healthcare equipment in the country. As a result, demand for engineering plastics is predicted to grow at a moderate rate over the projection period.

• Moreover, because of the increased demand from the pharmaceutical industry, Saudi Arabia's packaging business is rapidly developing. The use of engineering plastics in the country is being boosted by advancements in the packaging sector (for cosmetics and medicines). In order to accommodate the rising count of tourists, the country is seeing a growth in the building of hotels, recreational facilities, and other public infrastructure. Government efforts, like Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, are likely to promote a large increase in commercial building activity in the future years. Furthermore, the planned Dubai Expo 2020 is boosting commercial construction activities in the UAE, which is good news for engineering plastics usage.

• For many years, engineering plastics were being developed in the United Arab Emirates. Engineering plastics (such as polyamides, polyacetals, and POM) to the class of high-temperature-resistant polymers are among the polymer materials employed (such as PEEK and polyimides). These engineering plastics are widely utilized in the automotive, electrical, and electronics industries in the UAE due to their unique mechanical qualities and combination of low weight with excellent temperature and chemical resistance.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Middle East and African Engineering Plastic Market:

Coronavirus has exposed severe challenges for the Engineering Plastic market by impacting end-user sectors. Because of the slack in demand for oil across the world, other industries had to be functioning properly in order to drive the economy. The Engineering Plastic industry in the Middle East and Africa region has gone up and is doing very well. The demand for engineering plastic has decreased during the pandemic. The Engineering Plastic industry also witnessed high demand from the African region. Many of the manufacturing industries saw a steep decline in demand and as a result, the demand for engineering plastic also suffered.

There Are Several Major Players That Are Asserting Their Dominance In The Engineering Plastics Market

1. BASF SE

2. SABIC

3. Plastico SPS

4. Zamil Plastic

5. Solvay

6. DuPont

7. Constantia Flexibles GmbH