China tops global demand for MTBE

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 61.5% of global methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) demand and was the largest market for MTBE in 2011. A large portion of MTBE demand in the Asia-Pacific region came from China, which represented around two-thirds of regional demand. On the other hand, the global demand for MTBE decreased from 19.3 million tons in 2000 to 12.1 million tons in 2011. The decrease in global demand for MTBE was largely due to MTBE usage bans in the U.S. and Canada. In the forecast period 2011-2020, demand is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%, with the increasing market dominance of the Asia-Pacific region. (August 9, 2012)