PVA & VAE Emulsions, Redispersible Powders & Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH)

Polyvinyl acetate glue emulsions, VAE dispersions and powders, and PVOH by hydrolysis and viscosity

Most vinyl acetate monomer is polymerised, and the polymers go three ways. Polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) emulsion is the white wood glue and the adhesive of paper-packaging conversion and bookbinding, and PVAc and its ethylene copolymer VAE bind paper coatings, paints, nonwovens and textile finishes. Both are made by emulsion polymerisation, often with polyvinyl alcohol as the protective colloid, and wood glues are sold on water resistance, with D3 the water-resistant level. VAE is also sold as dispersible polymer powders, the binders of dry-mix mortars and polymer-modified tile adhesives. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is made by hydrolysing polyvinyl acetate, and a grade is defined by its degree of hydrolysis and the viscosity of a 4% solution at 20 °C; the EU's anti-dumping definition of certain polyvinyl alcohols runs from 3 to 61 mPa·s and from 80.0 to 99.9 mol% hydrolysis, measured by the ISO 15023-2 method. Its largest use in the USA and Western Europe is the manufacture of polyvinyl butyral; it is also a textile warp size that desizes in hot water, an ingredient of papermaking and remoistening adhesives, a water-soluble film for detergent pods, an aid in suspension polymerisation and a food additive, E1203. Customs splits the family into four codes: HS 3905.12 for PVAc in aqueous dispersion, 3905.21 for vinyl acetate copolymers such as VAE in aqueous dispersion, 3905.29 for those copolymers in other primary forms such as powder, and 3905.30 for PVOH.

UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations put HS 3905.21 at about USD 784 million and 574,000 MT across 75 reporters: Germany USD 191 million and 139,200 MT, the Netherlands USD 104 million, Singapore USD 72 million and 88,800 MT, Korea USD 57 million, Italy USD 46 million, Sweden USD 44 million, Malaysia USD 41 million, Canada USD 38 million and the USA USD 35 million. HS 3905.29 totals USD 609 million: Korea USD 101 million and 65,000 MT, China USD 83 million and 59,800 MT, Switzerland USD 71 million, the Netherlands USD 64 million, France USD 54 million, Taiwan USD 51 million and Türkiye USD 35 million, with a further USD 480 million declared by importers from Germany, which declares no exports under the code in the 2024 data. PVAc dispersions under HS 3905.12 are a smaller trade at USD 245 million, led by Germany at USD 59 million and Italy at USD 31 million. HS 3905.30 totals USD 1.27 billion and 513,000 MT: China USD 367 million and 210,200 MT, the USA USD 219 million and 74,300 MT, Taiwan USD 195 million and 86,200 MT, Japan USD 180 million and 55,000 MT, Singapore USD 93 million, the UK USD 53 million and Spain USD 50 million. Those are declared trade values, not offers.

Trade remedies apply to PVOH on two routes. The USA has applied anti-dumping duty orders on polyvinyl alcohol hydrolysed in excess of 80% from Japan and China since 2003; they were continued in 2009, 2015 and 2021, and on 8 September 2026 the US International Trade Commission determined in the fourth five-year review that revoking them would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury. The EU has applied anti-dumping duties on certain polyvinyl alcohols from China since 2020 under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1336, and an expiry review opened on 25 September 2025. Rates are set company by company, so the importer confirms the duty for the named producer before an origin is fixed.

The buyer is a wood-glue, packaging-adhesive or paint maker, a dry-mix mortar and tile-adhesive plant, a textile mill sizing warp yarn, a PVB or film producer, or a distributor. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers PVAc and VAE emulsions, dispersible powders and PVOH from producers and their offtake traders in Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, the USA, Switzerland and Türkiye, against the producer's certificate of analysis, the safety data sheet, a certificate of origin, a REACH statement for EU imports and, for food packaging in the USA, declarations against 21 CFR 175.105 for adhesives or 21 CFR 177.1670 for PVOH film. Emulsions move in drums or IBCs and powders and PVOH in 25 kg bags, in containers on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per MT on grade, pack and origin; minimum quantities are confirmed per product and pack. Send the product, the grade limits (solids, Tg or MFFT for emulsions; hydrolysis and viscosity for PVOH), the end use, pack, monthly volume and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.