In terms of global market scale, the wet strength agent market sees stable growth. Its global market size stood at approximately 465 million US dollars in 2025 and is projected to reach 735 million US dollars by 2032, registering a compound annual growth rate of 6.76% from 2025 to 2032. The market for paper strength enhancers including dry and wet strength agents enjoys more remarkable growth, hitting 620 million US dollars in 2025 and expected to attain 1.044 billion US dollars in 2032 with a CAGR of 7.8%. As the mainstream type, PAE wet strength resin also gains steady market growth, with global revenue reaching about 2.901 billion RMB in 2024 and forecasted to rise to 3.163 billion RMB by 2030 at a CAGR of 1.45%, reflecting stable market demand.

Globally, compliance regulations keep tightening, among which standards issued by the EU and ASEAN are greatly influencing the industrial development direction. The EU REACH regulations have become stricter, and formaldehyde-free and low residual epichlorohydrin (ECH below 50ppm) have become core access thresholds for entering the EU market, driving the industry to upgrade low-chlorination PAE processes and develop alternative products such as glyoxal-based agents. Meanwhile, the official implementation of the EU CBAM carbon border adjustment mechanism has exerted notable impacts on global trade of wet strength agents. Export-oriented regions are facing rising output yet falling prices, and the whole industry is attaching greater importance to full-life-cycle carbon footprint management and accelerating overseas capacity layout.

Driven by the RCEP agreement, relevant standards in ASEAN countries are gradually aligning with those of the EU. Countries such as Vietnam and Thailand have adopted EU limits on formaldehyde and ECH residues. Since 2026, these nations have increased random inspection frequency on imported food-contact paper products by 40%, further raising market access barriers. Besides, global safety standards for food-contact materials have been upgraded. The EU EU Ecolabel requires ECH content below 50ppm, stricter than the 200ppm limit in some domestic standards. Unified testing standards for chloropropanol in wet strength agents for food-contact paper have also been formulated, improving the traceability system of the global supply chain.

In technological innovation, the industry is developing rapidly towards bio-based, formaldehyde-free and low-chlorine products. Bio-based wet strength agents composed of nanocellulose and plant adhesives have a biodegradation rate of over 60% within 28 days, conforming to global eco-friendly concepts and witnessing soaring orders in European and American markets. Breakthroughs have been made in low-chlorine PAE technology, which can control ECH content below 25ppm via continuous production and multi-stage vacuum devolatilization technology, capturing the mid-end market with cost advantages. In addition, formaldehyde-free and low-chlorine glyoxal-based non-nitrogen wet strength agents feature boiling resistance and are suitable for cold chain packaging, with their European market share expected to reach 18% in 2026.

In the global industrial landscape, high-end markets are still dominated by Europe and America. High-solid content (≥12.5%) and high-temperature resistant (≥120℃) premium products enjoy a premium rate of up to 25%, widely used in food contact, medical packaging and other high-end fields. In the mid and low-end markets, advancing technologies have greatly boosted regional product competitiveness and lowered import dependence from 35% in 2020 to 12% in 2026. In 2026, global exports of wet strength agents show diversified trends, mainly targeting Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. The proportion of mid-to-high-end products in total exports has risen to 40%. The export structure is continuously optimized, and the division and layout of the global industrial chain are being adjusted steadily.