Leaf alcohol, maltol, vanillin, many synthetic spices are in short supply!

Multinational fragrance company De Monchy Aromatics released a September market report, which summarized the global market situation of nearly 10 synthetic fragrances. Among them, the supply of leaf alcohol, thiothiazole, and ethyl vanillin is very tight.

Leaf alcohol and derivatives

The supply of synthetic leaf alcohol and derivatives will continue to be extremely tight. Chinese manufacturers stopped production due to summer maintenance and will resume production later this month. At the same time, most of the production of Japanese manufacturers is occupied by long-term orders, and the only raw materials currently have extremely high prices. The shortage of leaf alcohol and its derivatives is expected to continue until 2021.

Leaf alcohol (EU natural grade)

The price of EU natural grade leaf alcohol from India remains high. Due to the accumulation of demand during the epidemic lockdown, many manufacturers have given a long lead time (the time from order to delivery).

Gamma-nonanolide (coconut aldehyde)

Due to the pressure on the supply of starting materials, the price of coconut aldehyde has strengthened recently. This starting material is also used in personal protective equipment, which may have caused a shortage of supply.

Maltol

The supply of synthetic maltol has been tight for many years. In 2017, a manufacturer exploded, resulting in an extremely short supply of maltol. The ensuing high-pressure environmental protection policy caused production to resume several years later. In the second half of 2019, due to the entry of many new manufacturers, the maltol market hit a historical low and has been relatively stable since then.

5-methylfuran aldehyde

The price of 5-methylfuran aldehyde has recently declined due to the large inventory at the source and the small market demand.

2-methyl-2-pentenoic acid

Affected by pollution restrictions, the output is still very small, with only a small supply.

Thiothiazole

The price of thiothiazole remains high because of the shortage of raw materials and the low inventory of industrial grade thiothiazole. This limits the output of rectified thiothiazole.

Vanillin/Ethyl Vanillin

The high market demand puts pressure on major Chinese manufacturers. Prices are rising and supply is limited, especially for ethyl vanillin, which has been in short supply for some time.