SOY CHEMICALS FOR PAPER PROCESSING - Soy New Uses

Growing demand in nonwovens and other products using specialty pulp has led to increasingdemand for dissolving pulp in textile type applications. The global demand for regeneratedcellulosic in 2010 was estimated to be 4.5 million tons. Demand growth will continue at a rateof 3-7% per year. Global pulp production increased by 7% in 2010, which in turn increased thedemand for wood raw-materials. As a result, prices for wood chips and pulp logs were up inmost regions of the world according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. Variability in wood chippricing and availability has prompted a serious search for alternate cellulose materials for theseapplications.GLOBAL LANDSCAPEToday, many industries operate on a global scale. The pulp and paper chemical market is noexception. An understanding of the global trends and demand are an important part ofassessing market opportunities in this industry.The United States and Canada have historically been large consumers of the world’s paper.North Americans consume 505 pounds per person, well above the world average of 121 poundsper person. Despite having only 5% of the population, North Americans consume over 17% ofthe world’s paper. These demographics are beginning to change as developing countriescontinue to grow in wealth and population.The total global consumption of paper was 370 million tons in 2009 with future gains expectedto be primarily in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Figure 3 shows the onset of production loss intotal paper and paperboard production occurring in 2004 in developed countries such as theUnited States, Canada, Japan and Europe. China, India and Latin America, increasing inpopulation and technology, have seen gains in demand over this time period. North America,historically a dominant force in paper consumption, was eclipsed by China for the first time in2009. It is expected that China will account for over 85% of the worldwide growth in demandfor print and writing paper for the next 15 years.9