Price trends and forecasts of polyacrylamide (PAM)

Polyacrylamide industry2025-2026A key shift in the landscape: the coexistence of cost advantages and high-end breakthroughs.

Step into2026In 2010, polyacrylamide (PAMThis key chemical, hailed as an "auxiliary agent for all industries," is standing at a crossroads filled with complex signals. On the one hand, the continued decline in upstream raw material prices has brought the industry a rare cost advantage; on the other hand, fierce competition based on homogeneous products and a clear demand for high-end products are driving a profound structural transformation.

Market Review: Cost Decline Dominates2025Year

Looking back on the past2025In 2018, the main theme of the polyacrylamide market was a "mild correction." Taking the widely used cationic polyacrylamide as an example, its domestic average annual price dropped from the beginning of the year to [price per ton].13,400Yuan slipped to the end of the year13,000Around yuan, the annual decline was approximately2.99%。

The core driver behind this trend is not weak demand, but rather..."Cost collapse." Acrylonitrile and acrylic acid, two key raw materials for the production of polyacrylamide, are...2025Prices fell sharply each year20.43%and22.52%This significantly weakened cost support for downstream products. At the same time, continued global capacity expansion, particularly the release of capacity for standard models, further exacerbated market supply pressures.

An interesting global price comparison reveals regional differences in the market. (As of...)2025Year12In [month], the price of polyacrylamide in the European market remained high at approximately [price range].2.46Dollar/kilograms, while the average price in Northeast Asia, where China is located, is approximately [price missing].1.94Dollar/kilograms, while the North American market is1.82Dollar/Kilograms. Behind this price difference lies the difference in product structure, environmental standards, and market demand in different regions.

Future Outlook:2026The pressures and opportunities of the year

Outlook2026In 2023, the market generally believed that the cost-driven market logic would continue. Upstream basic chemical raw material production capacity was ample and expected to remain at relatively low levels, providing favorable external conditions for polyacrylamide producers to expand their profit margins.

However, the industryThe "good times" are not universally beneficial. The market is showing an increasingly obvious polarization, with some sectors experiencing booms and others busts. In traditional water treatment (accounting for approximately [percentage missing] of demand), [the situation is quite different].45%In fields such as shale gas extraction and papermaking, ordinary anionic polymeric materials are highly homogenized and have become embroiled in fierce price competition. In stark contrast, demand for high-end specialty products used in demanding environments such as shale gas extraction, complex industrial wastewater treatment, and high-performance mortars is growing rapidly.

Industry analysis suggests that the annual demand growth rate for specialty polyacrylamides, including cationic, amphoteric, and salt- and temperature-resistant types, is expected to reach [a certain percentage].15%This is significantly higher than the industry average. This structural contradiction is particularly evident in my country's import and export data: my country's exports of polyacrylamide are mainly ordinary types, while imports are mostly high-end specialty types, with the average import price often more than double the average export price. This clearly indicates that the supply gap in high-end products has become a crucial issue that domestic industries must address in their upgrading process.

Technology-driven: Innovation breakthroughs for the future

The fundamental solution to this challenge lies in technological innovation. The industry's upgrading trends are highly aligned with the direction of national industrial policies. (Based on the petrochemical industry...)Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan, promoting the transformation of basic chemicals into high-end chemical new materials is a clear direction for tackling key challenges.

Cutting-edge research is providing solutions for product premiumization. For example, addressing the industry challenge of traditional polyacrylamide's easy degradation and failure in high-temperature, high-salt oil reservoirs, the latest research has significantly improved the product's temperature and salt resistance by introducing molecular structure design of monomers such as sodium styrene sulfonate. This type of research was published in...2025The findings of authoritative journals are moving from the laboratory to industrialization, providing a key to unlocking the high-end application market.

Feedback from downstream applications shows that experienced users are no longer solely focused on price. In scenarios such as deep dewatering of municipal sludge, mineral flotation and purification, and tertiary oil extraction, users are paying more attention to the specific tolerances of products, flocculation efficiency, and overall treatment costs. Therefore, leading manufacturers have begun to launch customized solutions and selection guides for specific market segments, shifting the competitive focus from cost-based competition to value-added services.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the polyacrylamide industry is currently undergoing a transformation period where opportunities and challenges coexist. While enjoying cost advantages, the entire industry must be keenly aware that a profit model reliant on fluctuations in raw material prices is unsustainable. The future belongs to those companies that can accurately grasp the pulse of downstream industry upgrades and achieve breakthroughs through continuous technological innovation in high-end, functional, and green technologies.

This battle uses technology as a spear and the market as a shield.The "high-end breakthrough battle" will become the new main theme determining the industry landscape.