What is driving the shift from DOP to DINP in the Chinese plasticizer market?

What is driving the shift from DOP to DINP in the Chinese plasticizer market?
China's plasticizer market is undergoing a structural shift as regulatory pressure and health concerns mount against DOP. EU and US bans on DOP in children's products, plus China's own environmental push, are accelerating substitution. DINP offers lower volatility, better migration resistance, and superior heat and electrical insulation properties, making it the preferred choice for wire and cable, automotive interiors, and flooring. However, China's DINP capacity remains constrained by a single domestic isononyl alcohol (INA) plant of 180,000 t/y, operated by Maoming Petrochemical BASF. This feedstock bottleneck keeps China reliant on imports, limiting how fast domestic producers can capture the DOP-to-DINP transition.