SYNTHETIC SPIDER SILK MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Drivers

An alternative to spider silk has been created that replicated the spider silk’s strength, energy-absorbing capacity, and elasticity. Moreover, synthetic spider silk contains more than 98% water. Laboratory-based spider silk is made from hydrogel, which consists of 98% water and 2% of cellulose and silica. Silica and cellulose are held together by cucurbiturils. Although, synthetic spider silks are not as strong compared to their natural counterparts, however, they are fairly stronger than other synthetic fibers such as nylon. Furthermore, these spider silks can be made at room temperature without the use of chemical solvents, and these are biodegradable and affordable.

Lockdown imposed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a temporary ban on import & export and manufacturing & processing activities across various industries, which decreased the demand for synthetic spider silk. This resulted in a decline in market growth in the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2020. However, the synthetic spider silk market is expected to recover by the first quarter of 2021, as the COVID-19 vaccination drive has begun in various economies, which is expected to improve the global economy.

Market Restraints

The high cost of manufacturing spider silk has hampered the revenue growth of the global synthetic spider silk market. In addition, the cannibalistic and territorial nature of spiders makes it extremely difficult to farm spiders for the commercial production of fabric. Similarly, the limited amount of silk produced by spiders is another restraining factor for the commercial production of spider silk. These factors are expected to hamper market revenue growth during the forecast period.