Ukrainian coating materials market: outlooks and expectations

The 4th International Conference “Ukrainian Coatings Market” was held in Kyiv on 15-16 October 2020. At the event, in their reports, leading professionals from specialist companies and analysts from the Chem Courier Company shared information on the current state of the coatings market. Representatives of various business structures were concerned with the issue of how the coatings market is developing under the present economic and epidemiological conditions, and what is the outlook for entrepreneurs?

According to experts in the coating materials market, the year 2020 became unpredictable for this branch of industry. Analysts predicted different factors: weather changes, an unstable political and economical situation in the country, currency exchange rate fluctuations, but no one had expected a coronavirus epidemic.

СOVID-19 has introduced its alterations and trends to the development of the coating materials market, among which are the following ones:

• In the spring of the current year, coating materials sales dipped, and the Ukrainian market contracted by 21% from March to May.
• Supposedly, the introduction of quarantine regulations in Ukraine would have incited Ukrainians to buy construction materials in the Internet, but not this time. Consumers have a habit of choosing such products in retail shops. Since small shops and markets selling construction materials were closed in the spring, all consumers made their purchases in big hypermarkets.
• As a whole, as compared to 2019, the year 2020 witnessed a 4% decline in the consumption of coating materials and a 5% production slump, though export volumes increased by 13%, and that of import by 6%.
• According to experts, changes occurred in the commodity category structure. As of 2020, water emulsion paints account for the major market share. The switching over of consumers of coating materials from alkyd-based products to water-based ones is one of the market trends in 2020.

Experts and analysts hold back from forecasting the further development of the market and its outlook. Presently, the market players are continuing to exploit the fine weather to make up for the lost sales in the spring. As concerns buyers’ moods, the manufacturers fear the influence of the epidemiological situation on the future buying capacity, though they are trying to look on the bright side of things.

SPE Lux-Х is expressing its gratitude to the Conference organisers, the Chem Courier Company, for the offered opportunity to take part in the event and for the well-prepared informational content!