The South Africa printing inks market was valued at $104.4 million in 2018 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3%.
Based on revenue, the packaging sector is anticipated to expand at the fastest pace during the forecast period.
Apart from the packaging sector, the commercial as well as a publication printing industry are also anticipated to be key and use segments within the South Africa printing inks market.
Based on the application, it is anticipated that the offset printing ink segment will lead the printing inks market in South Africa on account of the constant expansion in its end-use industries.
The packaging industry is one of the major consumers of printing inks.
Various types of printing inks and varnishes are employed on a wide range of substrates and surfaces to develop rub-resistant and weather-resistant properties on packaging materials.
Flexographic and gravure printing are extensively used for printing on flexible and convertible materials. Low migration inks and water-based inks are highly popular in the food packaging industry, as these lead to lower side-effects.
Rising GDP results in an increase in the number of individual income and a growing population of youthful consumers and continuously changing lifestyle are likely to increase the demand for a packaged consumer product such as ready to eat products, tetra packing for milk products, etc. in the country.
This, in turn, is expected to boost the packaging industry in South Africa, thereby indirectly augmenting the printing inks market in the country
An increase in environmental concerns has encouraged the adoption of sustainable and biodegradable solutions for printing in the country.
Usage of bio-based inks, such as soy ink, is gaining momentum, especially in the publishing industry, due to its low cost and environment-friendly features.
Rise in technological advancement in bio-based inks is anticipated to boost the global sustainable inks market.
The trend of e-commerce and e-literature/tickets/coupons etc. is rising at a significant rate across the globe.
This is impacting the market in South Africa as well, thereby creating a negative impact on the conventional publication & commercial printing industry.
Thus, a substantial decrease in paper-based communication channels is estimated to hinder the printing inks market in the country.
Among the prominent, growing trend of e-commerce (which include e-books, event tickets, sporting goods, toys, hotels, and airline reservations) is anticipated to affect the printing inks market the most, which in turn, is anticipated to act as a restraint for the South Africa printing inks market.
Further, the water-based printing inks market is expanding at a significant pace in the country due to high VOC emission issues and high prices of solvent-based printing inks providing immense opportunities to manufacturers.
The printing inks market in South Africa is moderately fragmented in nature. The top six companies cumulatively accounted for more than 60% share in 2018. The penetration of global players of printing inks in South Africa is likely to create stiff competition for the domestic players.
