China’s methanolsectoris faced with unprecedented challenges due to oversupply and low operating rate as well as low-priced products from abroad.China’s demand for synthetic resin is expected to grow steadily in 2013, varying growth driven by downstream sectors. In 2012China’s output of synthetic rubber (including latex) was up 7.06% YOY. Benefiting from new units that will be put into use in the next few years,China’s SR capacity is estimated to exceed 7.5 million t/a by 2017.

Biodegradable plastics or polymers are the ones which can be more than 90 percent broken down by microbes or the enzymes produced by them. It is important to distinguish between biobased and biodegradable plastics. Biobased plastics are those plastics which are manufactured from raw materials that are renewable. They may be but are not necessarily biodegradable. Additionally, the number of biobased plastics available in the market is more than the biodegradable plastics. There are different types of biodegradable plastics, such as polymers that are directly extracted from biomass and processed, polymers that are made from biobased precursors such as starch and PLA, and polymers made by bacteria, PHA, and PBS. Biodegradable plastics are different from conventional plastics and can be used for producing various products such as utensils, bags, furniture, carpets, films, bottles, cups, and packaging materials. Usage of biodegradable plastics helps reduce carbon emission, which is not possible with fossil fuel-based plastics.The Global Biodegradable Plastics market is expected to experience high growth during the period 2012-2016. One of the main reasons for the growth of the market is the increased awareness about the advantages of the biodegradable plastics over conventional plastics. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.60 percent over the forecast period.The Global Biodegradable Plastics market is driven by several factors. One of the major drivers in this market is the increasing demand for more eco-friendly packaging materials. The growth of the packaging industry is influenced by the need for non-toxic biodegradable plastics, which in turn has resulted in the increased demand for biodegradable plastics. Global rise in the prices of oil has also resulted in the shift toward use of biodegradable materials manufactured from renewable materials.