According to a major new study from Pira International, India is predicted to lead the field with a growth 5.5 percent during the period 2010-2015.The report, The Future of Global Markets for Specialty Papers to 2015, quantifies and segments the market for specialty papers across 14 countries and identifies opportunities and threats facing suppliers in the industry. It includes key trends and technical developments for 38 end-use applications.Specialty paper markets tend to be niche segments that have the potential for higher average margins than commodity markets, and have fairly stable pricing over time. They are also defined as markets for products that are made in smaller quantities, with their rarity or greater difficulty in manufacture allowing a premium price. The Pira study covers specialties in the following segments: décor, flexible packaging, printing, filtration, electrical, security and ‘others’.According to the study, there are signs of continued saturation and stagnation in Western Europe, Japan and the US. In some developed markets such as Spain and the UK some serious falls in tonnage have been evident. Pira predicts continued expansion of the Chinese, Indian, Russian and Brazilian economies as well as in Turkey and Poland."Per capita consumption of most specialty papers is relatively low in each of these major emerging markets and as their needs develop, there is no reason to doubt that their economies will absorb more of the specialty papers, which facilitate commerce and industry in the developed world," explains Adam Page, Head of Editorial at Pira.