the industry

Fine Chemicals are made to high specifications at relatively low volumes (<1000 te) and high price (>>$10 per kg) typically in multi-purpose, batch chemical (or biotech) plants.

The sector fits between low added-value commodities and higher added-value specialty and consumer chemicals.

markets

The global market for fine chemicals was estimated to be about $85 billion in 2010.

The largest markets are pharmaceuticals (about $55 billion) and agrochemicals (about $15 billion), with the $15 billion balance spread across another 50+ markets.

facts & figures

Given the difficulty of defining a fine chemical, estimates of the size of the fine chemicals market vary.

At $85 billion, the fine chemicals global industry (ex-manufacturer level) represents about 4% of the $2.5 trillion chemical industry turnover worldwide.

captive and merchant

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$55 billion

In 2010, it was estimated that the $55 billion pharmaceuticals market was divided between captive (in-house) manufacture ($32 billion) and merchant (outsourced) manufacture ($23 billion).

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$15 billion

For agrochemicals, the $15 billion market was divided between captive manufacture ($11 billion) and merchant manufacture ($4 billion).

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$15 billion

For other specialty markets, the $15 billion was divided between captive ($10 billion) and merchant ($5 billion) manufacture.