Polyvinyl alcohol

Drug ingredient

CAS 9002-89-5

Companies reported imports and no US production of this drug ingredient to EPA for 2023.

US productionZero

Import value, 2024$113M

Import volume9.6M lb

Import dependency100%

Top sourceTaiwan 35%

Production is reported production, not a complete census of factories. Production reporting year: 2023. Import value and source-country shares describe a shared customs category, not a separate chemical measurement.

Polyvinyl alcohol · US import value by year

2013: $97M · Peak 2022: $179M · 2024: $113M · 2025: $127M

Where It Comes From

Customs basis: HS 390530 · narrow

EPA reports by year

2023: US production Zero · Imports 9.6M lb
2019: US production Zero · Imports 29.7K lb

These shares come from HS customs code 390530, which covers 3 tracked chemicals in total. They estimate the category's origin mix, not this chemical specifically.

Source Countries

Country of origin for US imports, from Census customs data (2024).

TW 35%TaiwanJP 18%JapanSG 18%SingaporeDE 12%GermanyCN 8%China

Spain
India
Switzerland
Israel
Colombia
Belgium
Ireland
Mexico
France

EPA-registered importers (1)

Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.

Wego Chemical Group

7 FDA-registered drug labelers

A-S Medication Solutions

AvPAK

Best Choice

Chain Drug Marketing Association, Inc.

Optics Laboratory, Inc

Publix Super Markets, Inc.

Walgreens Co.

Why It Matters

Sectors

HealthPaints & CoatingsCore Chemicals

Downstream Uses

Appears in 9 drug and cosmetic product listings (FDA).

•Best Choice Artificial Tears
•Polyvinyl Alcohol
•Publix Artificial Tears Eye Drops
•Rugby Lubricating Drops
•Walgreens Soothing Eye Relief Lubricant Eye Drops
•Refresh Classic
•Rugby Polyvinyl Alcohol 1.4% Lubricating Eye Drops
•Minidrops

Show all 9

•Quality Choice Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops

FDA Shortage Status

Whether any manufacturer currently reports this drug as in shortage on the FDA Drug Shortages database. "Active Shortage" means at least one presentation has status "current."

No FDA shortage records

Industrial Uses

Used in 2 sectors as 2 functional roles.

•Cleaning agent in All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (50%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product
•Surfactant (surface active agent) in Paint and Coating Manufacturing (50%)Processing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product

Chemical Identity

CAS9002-89-5

PubChem CIDNot recorded

DTXSIDDTXSID4031930

FormulaNot recorded

Mol. WeightNot recorded

SMILESNot recorded

Data Sources

EPA CompTox (DSSTox) · DTXSID4031930Retrieved 2026-04-06
EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
FDA National Drug Code directoryRetrieved 2026-04-07
US Census international tradeReporting year: 2024 · Retrieved 2026-10-04

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Brief citations

Polyvinyl alcohol (CAS 9002-89-5) https://chemicalindependence.com/chemical/9002-89-5/ EPA CompTox (DSSTox): DTXSID4031930. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/details/DTXSID4031930 EPA Chemical Data Reporting: 9002-89-5. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting FDA National Drug Code directory: CAS 9002-89-5. Retrieved 2026-04-07. https://open.fda.gov/data/ndc/ US Census international trade: HS 390530 for CAS 9002-89-5. Reporting year: 2024. https://usatrade.census.gov/