North America Sodium Bicarbonate Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Animal Feed, Food, Chemicals, FGD, Pharma, Agriculture, Cleaning Products), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Industry Insights

The North America sodium bicarbonate market size was estimated at USD 388.4 million in 2017, expanding at an estimated CAGR of 1.8% from 2018 to 2025. The market is anticipated to be driven by growing demand from end-use industries such as animal feed, food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and water treatment. Moreover, strong government support for R&D to increase the application scope is an important factor that is expected to propel the market.

In recent years, the market has witnessed a steady growth rate in North America owing to large-scale demand generated from applications such as food (mostly used as a leavening agent) and animal feed (as the ruminal pH buffer). As of 2017, these two applications accounted for a share of more than 50.0% in the total North America market.

Commonly called baking soda, it is mainly obtained from soda ash, both in synthetic and natural form. However, raw material required for baking soda is produced from natural soda ash in North America. According to the US Geological Survey, currently, U.S. has the most abundant natural soda ash reserves, located at Green River Basin, Wyoming.

Product prices in the market largely depend on production of soda ash. According to the USGS, soda ash prices have increased in the recent past. Animal feed and food are the two primary applications generating considerable demand for sodium bicarbonate in U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The growing animal feed industry in the region is likely to further spur product demand in the coming years. Other sectors, such as flue gas desulfurization, cleaning products, and pharmaceuticals are also projected to contribute to the market to a significant extent.

Listing of sodium bicarbonate under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) acts as a boosting factor for product trading across North American countries. There has been a rise in export of sodium bicarbonate from U.S., while imports have seen a slight decline owing to increase in production of soda ash in recent years.

Application Insights

By application, the market has been segmented into chemicals, agriculture, animal feed, food, pharmaceuticals, cleaning products, water treatment, flue gas desulfurization, and others. In 2017, animal feed emerged as the largest and fastest growing segment and accounted for a market share of approximately 27.32%, closely followed by the food application segment.

Sodium bicarbonate is used for purifying, processing, and synthesizing polymers and chemicals. Increasing product consumption in chemical production, owing to its alkaline nature and favorable reactivity properties, is projected to be a significant factor driving the North America sodium bicarbonate market over the forecast period.

Feed grade sodium bicarbonate is also widely used as a dairy cow feed supplement. Owing to its buffering capabilities and palatability, it helps reduce acidic conditions and stabilize rumen pH. Its increasing application in animal feed, along with growing awareness regarding its benefits, is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. 

Sodium bicarbonate is also widely used as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in the pharmaceutical industry. It is used for manufacturing various pharmaceutical drugs such as analgesic tablets, antacid gel formulations, vitamin supplements, effervescent antacids, and powders. Due to its mild abrasive, grease cutting, and odor neutralizing properties, many household product manufacturers use it as a primary ingredient. Hence, due to its cleaning properties and alkalinity, the cleaning products segment is expected to witness steady growth in the coming years.

Regional Insights

Increasing demand from various end-use industries, such as chemical, agriculture, pharmaceutical, and food and beverages, along with growing animal feed production, is likely to drive the market over the forecast period. The demand-supply gap is providing a lucrative opportunity for product manufacturers to establish and expand their operations and distribution facilities in North America.

Growing production of soda ash is, in turn, likely to drive production of sodium bicarbonate in U.S. Lower environmental impact and production costs enable producers of natural soda ash to gain an advantage over synthetic soda ash producers. Constant shortages of pharmaceutical grade sodium bicarbonate has emerged as one of the major challenges for the pharmaceutical industry.

In Canada, sodium bicarbonate is majorly imported from U.S. Increasing imports of natural sodium bicarbonate products, and rising demand from the pharmaceutical industry are the factors projected to drive the market over the forecast period.

North America Sodium Bicarbonate Market Share Insights

Primary business players in the market invest in cost-effective and safe production methodologies of sodium bicarbonate. Companies are also trying to expand their product portfolio by focusing on developing different grades of sodium bicarbonate, which can be suitable to applications in various end-use industries.

To gain a competitive advantage in various regional markets, players also focus on expanding their product portfolio to suit customer needs. Industry participants have been offering products in different forms, such as granular, powder, and liquid. Major market participants include FMC Corporation; Tata Chemicals Limited; Tosoh Corporation; Solvay S.A.; Vitro; Church & Dwight Co., Inc.; Novacap Group; Genesis Energy; Brenntag North America; Natural Soda LLC; Hawkins, Inc.; Thomas Scientific; Alfa Aeser; and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at regional and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the North America sodium bicarbonate market report on the basis of application and region:

• Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Chemicals

  • Agriculture

  • Animal Feed

  • Food

  • Pharmaceuticals

  • Cleaning Products

  • Water treatment

  • Flue Gas Desulfurization

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • U.S.

  • Canada

  • Mexico