In recent years, the development of halogenated flame retardants has been greatly affected by the inclusion of decabromodiphenyl ether and hexabromocyclododecane as persistent organic pollutants, leading to the concept of halogen-free flame retardants. Corresponding to halogen flame retardants, the emergence of this concept has promoted the development of research and manufacturing of numerous halogen-free flame retardants, including phosphorus based flame retardants. After 2005, the price of bromine continued to rise, forming a sharp contrast with the stable price of domestic phosphorus resources, causing a rapid increase in the price gap between the two, and even the price of bromine based flame retardants was once more than twice the price of most phosphorus based flame retardants. Therefore, the rise in the price of bromine based flame retardants has driven the rapid growth of the market for phosphorus based or phosphorus nitrogen based flame retardants from 2005 to 2012.
In 2012, the consumption of flame retardants in China was about 474000 tons, with phosphorus based flame retardants accounting for the largest proportion, totaling about 179000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 16.4% compared to the consumption of 90000 tons in 2008. There are many reasons for the rapid growth of the phosphorus containing flame retardant market, but we believe the most important reason is the high prices of its main competitor, bromine based flame retardants, followed by downstream market drivers, and the third is the impact of policies and regulations.
Firstly, the price increase of brominated flame retardants has led to a rapid growth of phosphorus containing flame retardants. The global giants in brominated flame retardants are concentrated in Albemarle, ChemChina, and ICL. Since 2010, these three companies have continuously increased the prices of their flame retardants and bromine related products. Due to the continuous rise in the price of brominated flame retardants, it is inevitable to stimulate the consumption of phosphorus containing flame retardants and promote the growth of the phosphorus containing flame retardant consumption market.

Secondly, the rapid development of downstream industries has driven the consumption growth of phosphorus containing flame retardants. The consumption proportion of halogenated phosphate esters and halogen-free phosphate esters in China's phosphorus containing flame retardants accounts for 74% of the consumption of phosphorus containing flame retardants, mainly used in rapidly developing fields such as building insulation materials, fireproof coatings, adhesives, copper-clad laminates, and composite materials. Among them, halogen-free phosphate esters are widely used in PC/ABS alloys; Ammonium polyphosphate is mainly used in fireproof coatings and general plastics; Hypophosphates are mainly used in engineering plastics such as polyamide and polyester; Red phosphorus flame retardant is mainly used for flame retardant of engineering plastics and general plastics; Phosphophenanthrene flame retardants are mainly used for copper-clad laminates.

According to a survey report on the flame retardant industry, China has been researching the synthesis and application of ammonium polyphosphate since the 1980s, and its development has been particularly rapid in recent years. In 2003, the domestic consumption of ammonium polyphosphate reached 8000 tons, and in 2012 it reached 26000 tons, showing a continuous growth trend. With the strengthening of national requirements for flame retardant technology, phosphorus based flame retardants will continue to play a steady role in future development due to their price advantage.

The flame retardant industry is increasingly developing into a globalized industry, which is reflected in the fact that many flame retardant companies are participating in global trade. The competition within the industry is no longer limited to the competition of enterprises within a certain country or region, but rather the competition among global market participants; On the other hand, flame retardant regulations in a country or region often have an impact on global industry rules. Manufacturers of terminal products such as consumer electronics, even if their registered country or region does not have mandatory regulations on flame retardancy, must meet the flame retardant standards of the selling or importing country if their products are to be sold in the international market. Therefore, export-oriented product manufacturers generally tend to adopt the strictest national flame retardant standard formulas in order to sell their products to as many countries and regions as possible, which has driven the development of the entire flame retardant product industry chain worldwide.