Chapter 6.9: The Paints and Coatings Industry

Editorial Department, China Chemical News and China Chemical Industry Yearbook

Production

Upward trend for the total output of paints and coatings and prominence in coastal areas

According to data issued by the State Statistical Bureau, the domestic output of paints and coatings was 1.8394 million tons in 2000, up by 7.44 per cent on 1999 and an increase on the average growth of 2.09 per cent from 1997 to 2000. This excludes small producers with an annual output of of less than 5 million yuan, and if this amount was added, domestic output would top 2 million tons, ranking third in the world. Of the total, output of building coatings was 563,200 tons in 2000, an increase of of 9.25 per cent on 1999. These data show that the total domestic output of paints and coatings was basically stable and ascending year on year

In the coastal areas, total output was 1.3542 million tons in 2000, 73.62 per cent of the total domestic output and a rise of 16.08 per cent on 1999. Total output of building coatings was 97,700 tons, a gain of 48.06 per cent on 1999. It was evident that the coastal areas' increase in total output was much higher than the average domestic growth, and the growth of building coatings was unprecedented.

In the western regions , total output was 142,300 tons in 2000, constituting only 7.73 per cent of the total domestic output, and this total was 24.78 per cent less than in 1999, while the total output of building coatings was 34,200 tons, a fall of 61.36 per cent from 1999. This decrease in output was consistent with the economic gap between western and eastern regions.

Total output of paints and coatings in other regions (south-central, north-east, etc.) was 343,400 tons in 2000, accounting for 18.67 per cent of the total domestic output, which was a drop of 3.73 per cent from 1999. Total output of building coatings was 131,300 tons, a decrease of 11.11 per cent on 1999. Total output of paints and coatings and building coatings decreased compared with the previous year.

From the above analysis it is evident that the total domestic output of paints and coatings was effectively stable and increasing year on year, but development in various regions was uneven . The gap between western and eastern regions continued to widen, but the eastern regions' specialized production base for coatings and larger producers helped to accelerate its development so that the level of specialization in paint production rose constantly, raising the technical level of the paint industry and promoting product quality. From the market viewpoint, the strategic principle of developing the economy of the west central region and the implementation of state preferential policies, give the market in the west central region excellent prospects.

The shape of specialized paint production bases and the emergence of specialized paint producers

An analysis from the geographical point of view of the distribution of the total output of paints in 2000 would show that grouped paint production bases had taken shape and large-scale specialized paint producers are beginning to emerge.

In 2000 the production of paints and coatings was distributed mainly in the East China region, making up 41.56 per cent of the total domestic output, and the south central region (30.84 per cent of the total), with output concentrated in three places: Guangdong Province, Shanghai Municipality and Jiangsu Province . The total output of these three was 48.02 per cent, nearly half of the total.