Dissolving Pulp Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034

This report describes and explains the dissolving pulp market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period, and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global dissolving pulp market reached a value of nearly $18.26 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.81% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $18.26 billion in 2024 to $22.75 billion in 2029 at a rate of 4.50%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.13% from 2029 and reach $27.86 billion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising demand from the textile industry, stringent environmental regulations, increasing demand from the pharmaceutical and personal care sectors and growth in nonwoven and hygiene products. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were the volatile raw material prices and high chemical consumption in DP production.

Going forward, the consumer shift toward sustainable/biobased fibers, growth in apparel and fast-fashion volumes, growing corporate ESG and carbon footprint reduction goals and growing demand for bio-based polymers and films support will drive growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the dissolving pulp market in the future include were competition from alternative fibers, dependence on wood-based feedstock and impact of trade war and tariff.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the dissolving pulp market, accounting for 77.97% or $14.24 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by North America, South America and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the dissolving pulp market will be Africa and Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 7.06% and 6.27% respectively. These will be followed by South America and Asia Pacific where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 5.41% and 4.63% respectively.

The global dissolving pulp market is fairly concentrated, with large players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 27.45% of the total market in 2024. Aditya Birla Group (Grasim Industries) was the largest competitor with a 4.11% share of the market, followed by Sappi Ltd. with 3.35%, The Lenzing Group with 3.16%, Shandong Sunpaper Co. Ltd. with 3.08%, Bracell Ltd. with 3.07%, Dexco (LD Celulosa S.A.) with 3.01%, Södra Skogsägarna (Södra Cell AB) with 2.34%, Arauco (Celulosa Arauco y Constitución) with 2.29%, Altri SGPS SA (Caima Industria de Celulose S.A) with 2.10% and Yueyang Forest & Paper Co., Ltd. (Hunan Juntai New Material Technology Co., Ltd.) with 0.92%.

The dissolving pulp market is segmented by source into wood pulp, cotton linters, bamboo pulp and other sources. The wood pulp market was the largest segment of the dissolving pulp market segmented by source, accounting for 80.56% or $14.71 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the bamboo pulp segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the dissolving pulp market segmented by source, at a CAGR of 7.07% during 2024-2029.

The dissolving pulp market is segmented by application into textiles, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, personal care, industrial applications and other applications. The textiles market was the largest segment of the dissolving pulp market segmented by application, accounting for 67.95% or $12.41 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the pharmaceuticals segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the dissolving pulp market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 4.93% during 2024-2029.

The dissolving pulp market is segmented by grade into specialty grade and technical grade. The specialty grade market was the largest segment of the dissolving pulp market segmented by grade, accounting for 69.22% or $12.64 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the specialty grade segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the dissolving pulp market segmented by grade, at a CAGR of 5.13% during 2024-2029.

The dissolving pulp market is segmented by production process into prehydrolysis kraft process, acid sulfite process and other production processes. The prehydrolysis kraft process market was the largest segment of the dissolving pulp market segmented by production process, accounting for 60.70% or $11.08 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the prehydrolysis kraft process segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the dissolving pulp market segmented by production process, at a CAGR of 5.35% during 2024-2029.

The top opportunities in the dissolving pulp market segmented by source will arise in the wood pulp segment, which will gain $3.4 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the dissolving pulp market segmented by application will arise in the textiles segment, which will gain $3.23 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the dissolving pulp market segmented by grade will arise in the specialty grade segment, which will gain $3.59 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the dissolving pulp market segmented by production process will arise in the prehydrolysis kraft process segment, which will gain $3.29 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The dissolving pulp market size will gain the most in China at $1.85 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the dissolving pulp market include development of agricultural-waste-based dissolving pulp designed to reduce reliance on traditional wood feedstock, investing in greenfield mills that pair high-efficiency production with renewable energy generation and upgrading their processing infrastructure with advanced bleaching technologies aimed at lowering chemical usage.

Player-adopted strategies in the dissolving pulp market include focus on expanding its business capabilities through launches to expand its operational capabilities and focus on expanding its business capabilities through new investments to expand its operational capabilities.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the dissolving pulp market companies to focus on expanding agricultural-waste-based dissolving pulp production, focus on integrating renewable energy with greenfield dissolving pulp mills, focus on upgrading bleaching infrastructure to improve efficiency and sustainability, focus on expanding operations in the bamboo pulp segment, focus on expanding operations in the specialty grade segment, focus on strengthening presence in the prehydrolysis kraft process segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strengthening global distribution and supply networks, focus on developing flexible and value-based pricing strategies, strengthen market visibility through targeted industry engagement, optimize digital promotion and relationship marketing and focus on expanding presence in the textiles segment.