On a country-by-country basis, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the two largest consumers of paints and coatings in the region, with almost equal demand for these products, estimated at 43 percent and 41 percent of the total Central Asian paints demand, respectively. As the majority of the markets is represented by architectural paints, their evolution depends to a great extent on the fortunes of the local construction industries. Notably, underpinned by the growth in the construction sector, the Kazakhstani paints and coatings market will be growing at a slow pace, and the Uzbekistani market will reveal higher growth rates.

Out of the smaller countries, Turkmenistan is the most attractive market for investors due to low levels of competition and fast-growing downstream industries; and Tajikistan is the least attractive market for paint suppliers, attributable to high logistics costs associated with the transportation of the products to the region and low levels of demand from the underfinanced local industry.

Architectural and decorative coatings for consumer and professional uses account for around 76 percent of the total market, although this proportion varies from country to country. This percentage is typically high for developing regions like Central Asia, where agriculture contributes a substantial portion to GDP and the manufacturing sector is stagnating, emerging or developing.

In the industrial coatings segment, the highest growth is forecast for the materials with special protective properties, as there are significant resources of oil and gas in the region as well as of mineral commodities. The growing demand for general industrial coatings in Central Asia springs from its machine building, metal working industries and road marking applications. The demand for refinishes is justified by the growing car fleet in the region on one hand, and a genuine interest in car maintenance among ordinary citizens, common for the regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, on the other. The level of popularity of powder coatings is different for the various country markets.

A Profile of the Central Asian Paint Industry gives 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 Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It provides 2013 market data on nine mainstream paints and coatings segments: architectural/decorative, industrial wood coatings, protective coatings, marine coatings, automotive OEM coatings (only for Uzbekistan), 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 study, visit IRL’s website.