Castor Oil and Derivatives Market Share Analysis, Demand, Trends, Growth, Industry, Market Forecast (2024-2031)

Global Castor Oil & Derivatives Market is segmented By Type (Castor Oil, Castor Oil Derivatives), By End-User (Food & Beverage, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Automotive, Others), By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2023-2030

Castor Oil & Derivatives Market Overview

(200 pages) Global Castor Oil & Derivatives market to grow at a high CAGR Of 3.94% during the forecast period 2023- 2030. The market is expected to grow due to increasing demand from Food & Beverage, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Automotive. The competitive rivalry intensifies with TCO GROUP, Haihang Adani Group., Adani Group, and others operating in the market.

Castor Oil & Derivatives Market Summary

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Castor oil is a plant-based oil extracted commonly by cold-pressed process from castor beans. It is usually a pale-yellow liquid with a distinct odor and taste. Various types of derivatives are obtained from castor oil, such as ricinoleic acid, castor wax and dehydrated castor oil. Castor oil has 90% of ricinoleic acid of the total fatty acids, which is used on printing ink, textile finishing and pigments. The primary use of castor oil is as a chemical intermediate to produce oleochemicals that find application as a replacement for petroleum-based products. Castor oil is utilized commercially as a highly renewable resource for various industries such as pharmaceuticals, lubricants, biodiesel, automotive and cosmetics.

Castor Oil & Derivatives Market Dynamics and Trends

Growing inclination towards organic and plant-based cosmetic products boosts the demand for castor oil

The interest towards plant-based cosmetics is rapidly growing with increasing concerns on synthetic and animal derived formulations. Most Traditional cosmetics are based on chemical ingredients, which are synthetic and harmful for humans. The chemical-based cosmetics impact skin and cause allergic reaction and various other skin problems which is growing need for plant-based alternatives.

Castor oil is an effective choice owing to high specific gravity and hydroxyl value and is growing its use in synthesis of polyester amide, polyurethane, epoxy, interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) and blending with commercial polymethylmethacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene in various formulations, thus driving market growth in the industry.

The rising vegan population is another macro factor leading to market growth. Vegan population prefers organic or plant-based products since various cosmetics manufacturers use fish oil and other meat related ingredients. In organic and plant-based skin care products, natural ingredients commonly used are vegetable oil, castor oil with active and functional properties for face and body product. According to vegconomist, 11% of the total global consumer are vegetarian and 3% are vegan population which are giving preferences to plant-based products.

Castor Oil & Derivatives Market Segmentation Analysis

Biodiesel is likely to emerge as a lucrative application. Low cetane number of castor oil makes it suitable for the biodiesel production

Biodiesel is manufactured from renewable sources such as vegetable oil or animal fat. It is biodegradable, free from aromatic compounds and toxins. Biodiesel from castor oil has a lower cetane number than conventional diesel, which indicates ignition qualities of diesel fuel related to cetane as a standard. Biodiesel is emerging as one of the most used biofuels to substitute petroleum-based diesel fuel recently.

Biodiesel is produced from castor oil combined with several concentrations of Petro diesel to receive B10, B5 and B20 blends. The biodiesel properties and its blends are determined according to the standard test methods of analysis. Castor oil biodiesel mixtures lowers the cloud point value but simultaneously increases the viscosity of the diesel–biodiesel blends. Thus, castor oil biodiesel with high pour points and low clouds are suitable for intense winter temperatures, boosting the global demand for castor oil.

According to EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), biodiesel's environmental advantages, ease of use, the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) Program and availability of federal and state financial and other incentives are provided to the growth of U.S. biodiesel demand. The demand in U.S. increased from 10 million gallons in 2001 to 2 billion gallons in 2016.

However, castor oil is not an economically viable solution for biodiesel production in comparison with soybean and rapeseed in the current market scenario. The high production cost of castor oil and geographically limited production of castor seeds is limiting the market growth

Castor Oil & Derivatives Geographical Share

China leading in consumption of castor oil globally. Production is highly concentrated in India

Asia-Pacific is the largest consumer and producer of castor oil and derivatives. India is the largest producer and exporter of castor beans and oil globally followed by China. The suitable climate and soil cultivation of this oilseed, and availability of castor seed crushing facilities led to large volume of castor oil production in the country. Production reached 1.08 million metric tons in 2019 and castor oil exports during the year recorded at 572 thousand metric tons. China evolved as the largest consumer owing to large-scale consumption in cosmetics, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The country is focusing towards procurement of castor seeds from India to reduce its dependence for castor oil.

Castor Oil & Derivatives Company and Competitive Landscape

Geographical advantage in terms of bean production led Indian players to dominate the market

The global castor oil & derivatives market is consolidated with very limited players holding major share and most of these companies are based in India. TCO GROUP, ITOH OIL CHEMICALS CO. LTD., R.P.K. Agrotech Exports Pvt. Ltd., Gustav Heess Oleochemische Erzeugnisse GmbH, HOKOKU CORPORATION, Taj Agro International (Taj Pharma Group), Haihang Industry, Croda International Plc, Adani Group, Kanak Castor Products Pvt. Ltd. and others are some of the leading players on the global market. Companies are focusing towards development of industry-specific oil quality to cater the needs of end users. Cosmetics is leading in the end use spectrum in terms of new product launches

• In August 2021, BASF has launched Elastoflex, with castor oil-based polyurethane, with bio-based castor oil making up 20% of the product overall
• In March 2019, GEKA had launched new collection of cosmetic products ‘kiss the nature’ which are fiber consisting of 100% renewable raw material form castor oil plant

COVID-19 Impact on Castor Oil & Derivatives

Pandemic had a positive impact on castor oil market, through growth in demand from pharmaceutical applications

The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown adversely affected all major industries, but pharmaceutical industry witnessed significant growth with castor oil based medicinal production and usage increased exponentially. Consumers are shifting towards plant-based products in food and cosmetic preferences owing to rising awareness on their benefits over synthetic and chemical formulations.

Castor oil is also used in industries such as paints, lubricants and plastic & resins – all experiencing negative growth since the outbreak of novel coronavirus in early 2020. The global demand for these products declined significantly, resulting in lower consumption of castor oil.