After seeing a significant contraction in both sales and production volumes in 2020, Korea’s dye sales returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. A recent report in TIN News details the changes and highlights KISCO’s role in growing Korea’s dye sales.
TIN News reports figures from the Korea Dye and Pigment Industry Cooperative which show that exports and domestic demand for dye items amounted to 105,207 tons in 2021. This is an 11% increase on 2020 and 98% of the volume reported in 2019. Overall sales in 2021 rose to around 600 billion won, a 19% increase when compared with 2020. This is around 97% of 2019’s sales figures.
Domestic sales of dyes increased by 17% compared with 2019 and 19% compared with 2020. This is consistent with Korea’s economic performance throughout the pandemic being significantly stronger than most other countries. As global markets return to pre-pandemic levels it is expected that exports will grow.
By type of dye, reactive dyes (used on cotton and cellulosic fibers) accounted for the largest share of volume and sales (around 44%). The largest growth was seen in disperse dyes (+35%) and fluorescent dyes (+57%) which are consistent with increased demand for Athleisure wear.
In reporting these data, Bong Shik-yoon, Managing Director of the Korea Dye and Pigment Industry Cooperative, was quoted as specifically highlighting the role of global dye makers, such as KISCO, in driving the sales increases.
