2026 Comprehensive Analysis of Overseas Chemical & Raw Material Markets: Revealing the Real Purchasing Logic of Buyers in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America

I. Differentiated Demands in Three Major Incremental Markets

Against the backdrop of profound structural adjustments in the global chemical and raw materials market, growth in traditional European and American markets is slowing down, while the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are emerging as the three regions with the most significant growth in the coming years. These regions not only differ significantly in industrial policies, market demand, procurement habits, and compliance requirements, but their procurement decision-making logic also differs greatly from that of previously mature markets.

(1) Middle East Market: Stable supply + long-term bulk contracts are the core.

Leveraging its status as a major energy resource country, the Middle East is using national strategies such as Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" to drive the upgrading of its downstream chemical industry and the expansion of localized production. Therefore, the region's procurement of chemicals and raw materials has three distinct characteristics:

• Demand is large and concentrated in bulk basic chemicals , including crude oil derivatives, basic polymers and a wide range of industrial chemical raw materials, especially those related to energy and infrastructure, which continue to grow.

• Long-term supply contracts are the primary focus : Purchasers tend to sign long-term supply agreements with suppliers to secure stable supply and pricing mechanisms, while also optimizing inventory management through a futures/spot trading model. These long-term contracts typically require suppliers to provide reliable proof of their ability to fulfill the contract and a flexible supply chain solution.

• Strict compliance and local operation requirements : Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia require certifications such as SASO, and there are numerous procedural requirements regarding taxation and customs declarations. Companies need to adapt to specific standards to avoid customs clearance delays and compliance risks.

Therefore, for chemical companies seeking to enter the Middle East, a stable supply of bulk materials and the ability to secure long-term contracts are the core considerations for buyers, rather than simple price competition.

(2) Southeast Asian market: cost-effectiveness and fast delivery

Southeast Asia's chemical demand has continued to grow rapidly in recent years, particularly driven by industrialization, infrastructure, and manufacturing expansion. By 2025, Southeast Asia's chemical imports are projected to increase significantly, with cross-border e-commerce channels accounting for a continuously rising proportion, indicating a growing market demand for efficient supply chains.

Southeast Asia has prominent procurement focus points:

• Cost-effectiveness is paramount : Unlike the Middle East, which emphasizes contract stability, Southeast Asian buyers are highly price-sensitive, especially for bulk basic materials and intermediate products.

• Fast delivery cycle : Based on the rapid iteration of order cycles in the regional manufacturing industry, buyers place more emphasis on delivery time and delivery flexibility, and often use overseas warehouses or local distribution centers to reduce supply chain cycle.

• Supply chain responsiveness : Achieving rapid response through local partners and third-party logistics mechanisms has become a key competitive advantage in winning orders.

Therefore, in the Southeast Asian market, providing cost-effective pricing, short lead time solutions, and localized inventory support is a key path for multinational suppliers to break through.

(3) Latin American Market: Local Agency and Technical Support Capabilities

Latin America's industrial base is gradually developing, while demand for high-value-added products such as specialty chemicals and functional raw materials is growing rapidly. According to various industry reports, the Latin American chemical market (including basic and specialty chemicals) is expected to maintain double-digit growth.

The purchasing logic in the Latin American market has the following characteristics:

• Reliance on local distribution networks : The complex geographical structure and logistical conditions make local agents and distributors core nodes in the procurement chain. Excellent agents, familiar with local laws, languages, and cultures, become irreplaceable bridges in the supply chain.

• Technical support and systematic services : Buyers have higher demands for technical services than for bulk transactions themselves, especially in terms of product application, formula optimization, compliance declaration and after-sales service, requiring suppliers or agents to provide one-stop support.

• Fragmented regulatory framework : Different countries have different detailed rules on chemical compliance and hazardous materials management, which need to be addressed one by one.

Overall, Latin American buyers tend to favor holistic solutions rather than individual material quotes, making technical support capabilities and the development of local partner networks key competitive factors.

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II. Differences in the Real Compliance Requirements Across Different Markets

Even for the same type of chemical product, the compliance requirements vary significantly across different regional markets, which affects companies' pricing, delivery processes, and market access strategies.

1. Middle East compliance requirements

The Middle Eastern market generally requires specific certification processes for imported chemicals, such as SASO, which is mandatory in Saudi Arabia; at the same time, the tax and import customs clearance systems place high demands on companies' ability to comply with declarations.

For multinational suppliers, investing in a compliance system (including product certificate preparation, document translation, compliance declaration, and local agent compliance support) is the most basic threshold for entering the market.

2. Southeast Asian compliance emphasizes standards and rapid adaptation.

Southeast Asian countries are showing a trend toward consistency in chemical management standards. For example, most countries have gradually adopted the GHS labeling system. However, the requirements for product registration and safety assessment vary from country to country.

Companies need to establish cross-border regulatory tracking mechanisms to quickly adapt to compliance changes in different countries, while leveraging local service providers to shorten the compliance cycle.

3. Compliance in Latin America is fragmented but trending towards international standards.

Latin American countries' chemical regulatory systems are converging with international standards, and many countries have gradually implemented GHS classification and labeling, registration and risk assessment systems.

However, due to differences in regulations and enforcement levels across countries, companies still need to develop localized compliance strategies and work with agents to customize filing plans to meet the requirements of each country.

III. Typical Buyer Profile

In the three major regional markets, the main procuring entities for chemicals and raw materials fall into three categories: manufacturing plants, distributors, and regional general agents . The following outlines their behavioral characteristics and decision-making logic.

1. Manufacturing Plant (End Users)

• Purchasing motivation : Directly used for production, with a focus on specification stability, long-term supply reliability, and total life cycle cost.

• Decision-driven factors : technical standards, completeness of COA/TDS/MSDS, risk management capabilities, and maturity of the supply chain.

• Transaction path : Priority supplier database management, long-term framework agreement bidding.

2. Distributors

• Purchasing motivation : Based on network demand, highly price-sensitive, and especially value inventory flexibility and fast delivery.

• Decision-driven factors : supply chain costs, inventory turnover efficiency, and regional warehousing capacity.

• Transaction path : small batch orders + rapid replenishment system.

3. Regional Masters

• Purchasing motivation : To centrally operate a brand/product line and bear primary responsibility for technical support and marketing.

• Decision-driven factors : brand licensing, market coverage, and service and technical support resources.

• Transaction path : Long-term cooperation agreement + authorized distribution network construction.

IV. Matching Relationship between Market and Channel

Effectively opening up overseas markets requires not only a thorough understanding of the product and buyer logic, but also optimization of marketing and customer acquisition channels based on regional characteristics.

(1) SEO and regional keyword strategy

Buyers from different regions exhibit significant differences in their search behavior. Middle Eastern buyers may prioritize keywords such as "long-term chemical supply contracts" and "API chemical supply certification SASO"; Southeast Asian buyers are more likely to use "low-cost chemical raw materials + fast delivery"; while Latin American buyers focus on combinations of terms such as "local agents + technical support services".

By utilizing multilingual structured websites (such as English + Arabic + Indonesian + Spanish) and localized keyword strategies, you can significantly improve organic search rankings and overseas traffic conversion efficiency.

(2) Offline exhibitions and B2B conferences

In all three regions, industry trade shows remain a key touchpoint in the decision-making chain for chemical buyers: for example, chemical industry expos in the Middle East, manufacturing supply chain expos in Southeast Asia, and chemical and raw materials industry forums in Latin America.

Customized exhibition materials and technical explanations designed for different types of buyers can improve the ROI of the exhibition.

(3) Email and Targeted Customer Acquisition Strategies

Email marketing remains effective in the chemical industry, especially for manufacturing plants and authorized distributors. A combination of industry content, compliance information, and sample support in emails can significantly improve open rates and inquiry conversion rates.

V. AB Customer Intelligent Website Building: Cross-Regional Buyer Search Behavior and Technical Focus

In the digital customer acquisition system of the chemical industry, overseas buyers have a much higher demand for technical details, compliance documents, and stable supply information than for visual design.

According to industry trend analysis in 2026, technical content and compliance information have become prerequisites for transactions.

The advantages of AB Customer Intelligent Website Builder are reflected in:

• Multilingual structured websites support precise searches by global buyers, and multi-regional keyword operations enhance organic traffic.

• It supports structured display of product specifications, compliance documents, test reports, etc. , which is more in line with the search habits of purchasers.

• It effectively integrates with industry emails and trade show customer acquisition strategies to improve inquiry conversion rates.

VI. Conclusion

Companies entering the three major growth markets of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America must develop differentiated strategies based on regional demand and actual procurement logic.

• In the Middle East, we emphasize stable supply and long-term contract capabilities , and attach importance to compliance and local certification processes.

• Providing cost-effective and fast-delivery solutions in Southeast Asia to improve supply chain responsiveness;

• In Latin America, we emphasize local agents and technical support capabilities to establish a comprehensive service system.

Adopting marketing strategies that align with search behavior and channel preferences in different regions (SEO, multilingual websites, trade shows, and email marketing) can effectively improve market coverage and conversion efficiency.

AB Customer Intelligent Website Builder, as a global website building and content solution, provides digital display capabilities that better align with the procurement decision-making process, addressing key concerns of chemical buyers (compliance, technology, and stability). It is an important component for enterprises to build an overseas customer acquisition system.