Introduction

Ethyl carbamate, also known as urethane is a white crystalline substance manufactured by heatingethyl alcohol and urea nitrate. It is an ester of carbamic acid which used in a variety of applications such as food & beverages, medical, and agrochemicals among others.

The market for ethyl carbamate has been gaining significant importance over the past few years, majorly due to the widespread use of the compound in fermented beverages and food. Growth of the fermented beverages and food is expected to subsequently drive the demand for ethyl carbamate.In addition, the alcoholic beverage industry has also been witnessing a noticeable growth on account of increasing consumption of wine in emerging economies such as India and China.

Growth of the food & beverage industry has been the major factor driving the demand for ethyl carbamate. Other factors such as growing demand for pesticides and rising ageing population have contributed to the growth of the market in various agrochemical and medical applications. However, growing health concerns regarding the ill effects of ethyl carbamate in medical applications is expected to slow down the growth of the market. Increase in R&D activities for developing new innovative products is expected to provide new opportunities for the growth of the market. North America was the largest consumer for ethyl carbamate, followed by Europe, primarily due to presence of the significant food & beverages industries in these regions. However, future market growth is expected to be from Asia Pacific owing to the economic growth of several emerging economies such as China and India giving access to the consumers to choose wide variety of foods as well as create new products from ethyl carbamate.

Advance Coatings Co., BASF SE, Bayer MaterialScience AG, DuPont, Elmira Ltd., Fiberglass Coatings Inc., HK Research Corp., Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Stealth Composites Inc., and Zeller International Ltd. are some of the key manufacturers of ethyl carbmate present in the industry.