Lactic Acid Market Expected to Behold a CAGR of 13.0% through 2015 - 2023

Biodegradable plastics was the largest end-user segment of the lactic acid market with more than 30% share in 2014. It is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the lactic acid market during the forecast period. Food and beverage, personal care, and pharmaceutical segments are also anticipated to account for significantly high share in the lactic acid market in the near future. Increasing demand for bioplastics is likely to augment the demand for biodegradable plastics in the lactic acid market in the near future.

 Polylactic acid belongs to the group of bioplastics and is primarily used in packaging, textile, electronics, and various other end-user industries. It is chiefly used in packaging of food and beverages, trays, garbage bags, as well as employed in woven and non-woven textiles. In addition to packaging and textile industries, polylactic acid is utilized in electronics, biomedical, and consumer goods industries. Growing downstream markets such as packaging and biomedical industries would lead to sustainable growth in the polylactic acid market during the forecast period. 

 Packaging was the largest end-user segment of the polylactic acid market with a share of over 45% in 2014. It is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the polylactic acid during the forecast period. Textile, electronics, automotive, and biomedical end-user segments are also likely to hold significantly high share in the global polylactic acid market in the near future. Rising demand for polylactic acid in the packaging segment is projected to augment the global demand for polylactic acid in the near future. 

Key players operating in the lactic acid and polylactic acid markets include Corbion NV, NatureWorks LLC, Henan Jindan Lactic Acid Technology Co., Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Company, Synbra Technology BV, Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials Co., Ltd., Teijin Ltd., Galactic, and Futerro.