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The report "Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) Market by Application (Paints & Coatings, Printing Inks, Adhesives, Others) - Global Forecast to 2030", market was valued at USD 1.4 billion in 2023 and is predicted to reach USD 1.6 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period. As compared to traditional coatings such as toluene, xylene, and butanol; methyl ethyl ketone offers superior dissolution performance and volatile rate. This results in improved coating flow property and mechanical strength, alongside less pollution to the environment (compared to conventional solvents). This is the factor that makes MEK ideal in paints and coating preparation and therefore paints & coatings are considered as the primary area of application for MEK.

It is important to achieve the economic and technical performances required by the printing and packaging industry. Therefore, solvents play a key role in achieving technical as well as economical requirements. MEK is an ideal solvent used by the ink industry worldwide for packaging gravure products such as colored inks, primers, and heat-seal varnishes. MEK plays a key role in packaging solutions for printing purposes. With lifestyle changes and transition towards a fast-moving lifestyle, the adoption of packaged food and ready to go food products has grown to a great extent. Consequently, the usability of MEK colored inks, primers, and heat-seal varnishes is increased to a great extent for packaging solutions. It is pretty evident that with growing lifestyle changes the similar packaged food trend likely to continue in the coming years as well. Hence, therefore will be a great demand for food packaging solutions which are expected to uncover promising growth opportunities for MEK as colored inks, primers, and heat-seal varnishes.

Browse 81 market data Tables and 39 Figures spread through 112 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) Market by Application (Paints & Coatings, Printing Inks, Adhesives, Others) - Global Forecast to 2030"

Based on application, the global methyl ethyl ketone market is categorized into paints & coatings, printing inks, adhesives, and others. Paints and coatings is the main application of MEK. MEK is a common ingredient in solvent paints. MEK find its application as a low-boiling solvent for acrylic, nitrocellulose, and vinyl surface coatings applied at a certain pressure to the laminate which is generally low. MEK as a ingredient in paints find applications in automotive, electrical other end use industries. Paints and coatings accounted for 56.4% consumption of the MEK globally in 2023.

Global Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) Market Segmentation and Key Players

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“Asia-Pacific to hold the largest regional market share in 2023.”

Asia-Pacific methyl ethyl ketone market is studied across China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific is the world’s largest market for methyl ethyl ketone product family in terms of both production and consumption. As of 2019, Asia-Pacific accounted for over 50% market share in terms of demand for MEK whereas in terms of production capacity only China and Japan alone accented for roughly 45% global capacity as of 2019. The high growth of this region is mainly credible to flourishing growth in the paints and coating sector, consistent rise in the chemical production and resulting need for chemical intermediate, and rising use of adhesive formulations.

Trade & Regulations

On 20 November 2019, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China terminated the definitive antidumping duty imposed on imports of the subject good from Chinese Taipei and Japan. This follows the applicant's request submitted on 7 November to terminate the investigation and subsequent duties.

Some of the major players in the global MEK market ExxonMobil Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Sasol Limited, Nouryon, Cetex Petrochemicals, INEOS Solvents, Tasco Chemicals, Zibo Qixiang Petrochemical Industry Group Co.,Ltd., Maruzen Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd, Tonen Chemical, PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical, China Bluestar Harbin Petrochemical, Hebei Zhongjie Petrochemical Group Co. Ltd., and Bangkok Synthetics Co., Ltd.

Global MEK Market Coverage

Application Insight and Forecast 2025-2030

• Paints & Coatings
• Printing Inks
• Adhesives
• Others

Geographical Segmentation

MEK Market by Region

North America

• By Application
• By Country – U.S., and Canada

Europe

• By Application
• By Country – Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, U.K., Italy, France, and Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

• By Application
• By Country – China, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Rest of Asia-Pacific

Rest of the World (RoW)

• By Application
• By Country – Brazil, South Africa, and Other Countries