Information Research (IRL) has released “A Profile of the Middle Eastern and African Paint Industry.” The study illustrates average growth for the paint markets of the Middle East at 14% per annum and steady growth for the African markets, averaging 7% per annum.
    The Middle Eastern paint markets continue to be dominated by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in terms of size, with Qatar emerging as the fastest-growing market in the region and being heavily supplied with paint produced in the UAE. As with most of the markets in the region, overwhelming growth in the construction industry is the key driver for paint consumption. Other aspects underpinning the Middle Eastern paint market growth include the implementation of infrastructure, tourism development, post-war reconstruction and economic diversification as major economies reduce their dependency upon oil revenues and create jobs to reduce unemployment problems.
    Recently, parallel trends have been visible in the Middle East with regard to investments and acquisitions in the chemical area. In the long-term, increasingly significant levels of investment in intermediate and speciality chemicals can be expected to support a burgeoning regional growth market more fully, particularly as production in the Middle East encroaches further into the supply of African markets, according to the report.
    In Northern Africa, a number of the markets are sizeable with demand in the range of 100,000-200,000 tpa.
    Algeria will witness the construction of almost one million new homes in the near future, but its paint production is dominated by the state-owned ENAP, and aside from this the industry is relatively small; approximately 20 paint manufacturers are registered in Algeria.
    Egypt, on the other hand, is a significant and attractive paint market which is full of potential and served by a highly fragmented industry.
    The paint market in Tunisia has been heavily saturated in the recent past; as a result, some of the local producers have turned their attentions to supplying the Libyan paint market instead. Quality considerations are expected to improve in the Tunisian paint and coatings sector in the future.
    Many of these industries continue to be supplied with imported raw materials and some would benefit from investment in local (or at least closer) production of coating resins, and packaging too, the report said.