LONDON - IRL has launched a new edition of its regional title A Profile of the African Paint Industry. This fully updated report provides market data for 2013 and forecasts for 2018, and gives an overview of the paint industry trends across 20 countries in the region.

The total market for paints and coatings in the African continent was over 1.4 million metric tons in 2013. This could reach a total of 1.7 million metric tons by 2018 provided an annual growth rate of 4.0% is attained.

The architectural and decorative coatings for consumer and professional users correspond to a staggering 83.4% of the total demand for paints. This is also one of the fastest expanding segments due to the growing amount of construction activity. With the emergence of a middle class and the improving purchasing power of consumers, the quality of paints is also evolving. In addition, anti-bacterial decorative paints are entering the market and have been used on the interior walls of public buildings such as schools and hospitals.

On a country-by country basis, South Africa stands out as the largest paint consumer in the region, closely followed by Egypt. However, South Africa’s per capita paint consumption (5.6 kg/head) is almost double that of Egypt (2.9 kg/head). Although South Africa’s economy contracted during the global financial crisis, it has now recovered but growth has since slowed down. The demand for paints and coatings has followed the same fate, showing the lowest growth rate in the region (CAGR 2.5%) over the forecast period. In contrast, the demands for paints in Mozambique (CAGR 7.4%), Libya (CAGR 7.1%) and Ethiopia (CAGR 6.7%) are showing the fastest expected growth rates, which is unsurprising given the low overall paint consumption levels and the increased investments in the countries in question.

A Profile of the African Paint Industrygives an insight into the market changes in the past few years, as well as outlining the key trends affecting the decorative and industrial coatings segments for each individual country covered. The scope of the study covers Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It provides 2013 market data on nine mainstream paints and coatings segments: architectural/decorative, industrial wood coatings, protective coatings, marine coatings, automotive OEM coatings, automotive refinishes, powder coatings, general industrial coatings and plastic coatings. Forecasts on these are also presented for the year 2018.

For additional information about the report, visit www.informationresearch.co.uk.