The Asia Pacific Paint And Coatings Market

The Asia Pacific paint and coatings market is the largest market in the world. It is a diverse mix of regions and countries. The market is not growing quite as fast as previously due to slowing economic growth. But over the longer term, we expect growth to return due to the favorable economic and demographic trends occurring in the region.

Asia Pacific Paint and Coatings Market Size

The total market size of the Asian paint and coatings market is estimated to be 28.3 billion liters and $89.4 billion. The market is dominated by China. Although China is not growing as fast as in previous years, it remains the largest paint and coatings market in the world. South Asia (which is mostly India) and Japan & Korea are the next largest regions.

Regional Market Summaries

China

The key trend impacting the market has been slowing growth in China. The property market has declined and thus any paint used in new construction applications is flat or declining. Furthermore, the manufacturing sector is flat. This has resulted in very limited growth in the China market. Although repaint applications remain stable and are showing some growth. We expect growth to remain this way for the rest of the year and into next year before some recovery begins in 2026. One bright spot in the China paint and coatings market is the growth of electric vehicles. EV production continues to grow in China.

South Asia

South Asia, which is mostly India, is the fastest growing region in the world due to the fast-growing economy. The factors impacting the India growth include favorable demographic and economic trends.

India now has the largest population in the world. Not only is it a large population, it is growing. Furthermore, the population is relatively young. This is important because young people are entering the workforce in the prime of their spending years, which will drive paint and coatings demand.

Not only is the population young and growing, it is also moving to the cities. The urbanization rate is high in India. As people move from the rural areas to the cities, it tends to lead to a growth of middle-class consumers. This leads to stronger growth in the coatings market. The government has several programs directed at investing in infrastructure which is driving coatings growth. All this is leading multinational companies to invest in India, which is further driving economic growth.

Despite all of these positives, India is not immune to some of the global economic trends, especially as it relates to inflation. Many paint consumers in India continue to downgrade their paint purchases as a way to offset inflation. So consumers who used to buy the premium paints are now buying the mid-tier paints; those buying the mid-tier paints are now buying the lower end economy paints.

This has led to volume growth outpacing value growth in the market. Despite this impact in the market, we do expect growth to continue. The per capita paint consumption in India remains low. So there is a long runway for growth in the market.

Japan & South Korea

Japan and South Korea are the next largest paint markets in the region at 14% of the total. Japan is 10% of the total and South Korea is 4% of the total. These markets are more mature and thus are not growing as fast. In the case of Japan, the market is flat. In the case of South Korea, the paint and coatings market is growing modestly.

Southeast Asia

The Southeast Asian countries are expected to grow going forward. Growth has been limited this year due to property market issues occurring in the Vietnam market which is holding back the Vietnam building and construction market.

As discussed in the previous paragraph on India, consumers have been downgrading their paint purchase which is resulting in slow overall value growth in the market. But many of the economic and demographic trends occurring in South Asia are also occurring in Southeast Asia. Growing, young, and urbanizing populations will lead to stronger growth in the market over the longer term.

Australia and New Zealand

The paint and coatings market in Australia and New Zealand is a mature market and over longer periods of time is one that experiences steady growth. Like the other regions, decorative is the largest segment but there is a diverse set of end uses in the market. Like other regions of the world, sustainability is a key trend as consumers are more and more interested in environmentally friendly products.

Central Asia

Central Asia comprises countries like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and others. This market is the smallest of the regional markets, but it is growing fast and expected to continue to grow.
The graph shows the expected volume growth rates by sub-region in Asia.

Trends

The trends impacting the Asia Pacific coatings market are similar to those impacting other markets in the world. Some of these trends include:
• Sustainability: There continues to be an increased focus on sustainability. Sustainable coatings is leading to more use of water borne and high solids coatings. But more and more, sustainability means carbon footprint reduction. Reducing the curing temperature of the coating is one way to reduce the carbon footprint of a coating.
But given that some larger customers are doing life cycle analysis, the entire coatings solution needs to have a lower carbon footprint. So reduced carbon emissions at the raw material suppliers as well as at the paint manufacturing plant is important.
• Electric Vehicles: The EV market is growing strongly in China and should start growing in other countries. This is leading to increased coating use. Also, in some cases it is leading to different types of coatings in use.
• Renewable Energy: Coatings used in renewable energy applications are growing rapidly. Wind, solar and other renewable energy type applications are growing. This growth is already occurring in China and is projected to grow in some other markets in the region.
• Downgrading of Paint Purchases: As a way to combat inflation, many consumers are downgrading their paint purchases. Those that used to purchase the premium paint are now buying mid-tier paints; those buying mid-tier paints are now buying low end economy paints. Some of those that used to buy economy paints have dropped out of the market.

Conclusion

The market growth for paint and coatings in Asia Pacific is slowing due to a slowing global economy. The slowing economies in Europe and North America have resulted in less demand for the goods that are manufactured in Asia. Also the decline in the real estate market in China and elsewhere have resulted in slowing demand for paint & coatings. Despite these challenges, we remain optimistic about the future growth of the market. Favorable demographics and economic trends should propel the market forward. CW

Headquartered in Toronto, Orr & Boss firm serves clients through regional offices and associates located throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its international presence enables the firm to draw from a broad pool of talented consultants with highly relevant international experience. 
Douglas Bohn, director of Orr & Boss Consulting, has significant experience in several areas of the coating industry, including manufacturing and supply chain management as well as in market research and acquisition support services. Prior to joining Orr & Boss, Bohn worked for both Kimberly-Clark and ALCOA. Bohn holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. in chemical engineering and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).