Up to 179%! Another wave of price increases for global 'replenishment' of chemical raw materials strikes

With the arrival of the peak consumption season in the market, many countries around the world have begun to "replenish goods" from overseas. China's foreign trade has continued the good momentum since the first half of last year, with a rapid growth rate, and has become the first choice for many countries to purchase. Recent data released by the General Administration of Customs shows that the total value of my country's import and export of goods trade in the first half of 2021 is 18.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 27.1% over the same period last year. Among them, exports were 9.85 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.1%. my country’s exports to the United States were 1.64 trillion yuan, an increase of 31.7%; exports to ASEAN were 14.65.14 billion yuan; exports to Japan were 519.35 billion yuan; exports to India were 277.5 billion yuan.

In addition, in the first half of 2021, the volume of sea containers (20 feet) shipped from Asia to the United States reached 10.037 million, an increase of 40% year-on-year, setting a new record for nearly 17 years (2004). Among the containers shipped from Asia to the United States, by region, China's transportation volume accounted for 60%, an increase of 51% year-on-year. These data undoubtedly show the fact that the export volume of many products in my country has been rising recently, and the chemical industries involving foreign trade orders have also ushered in a favorable situation of rising volume and price.

A variety of chemical products ushered in positive exports, with a maximum increase of 179%

The surge in U.S. imports has led to the chaos of global container transportation. Since 2019, U.S. imports have increased by 10% every year, while other trades have grown moderately. Low inventories, a strong US economy, and shippers who don’t want out-of-stocks or empty shelves make demand prospects maintain strong growth until at least the beginning of 2022.

In terms of foreign trade exports, the chemical industry has recently shown an upward trend. Regardless of whether it is epoxy resin products or titanium dioxide products, the export situation was very hot in the first half of the year. The price of external disks was even higher than that in China. In addition to giving priority to keeping the orders of old customers and long-term customers, domestic chemical companies will adopt a limited amount. Sales, closing and other methods to ensure that some products are sold overseas to obtain more benefits.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, from 2010 to 2019, the export value of my country's chemical classification products continued to grow, and the growth rate of plastic products was the fastest, with an average annual growth rate of nearly 10%. In terms of scale, the export value of organic chemicals and petroleum, petroleum products and related raw materials is the largest.

According to incomplete statistics, the annual export volume of products with a relatively high proportion of my country’s exports exceeds 20 million tons. Products that account for more than 30% of exports mainly include rubber additives, titanium dioxide, polyurethane, dyes, phosphorous chemicals, fertilizers, etc. In particular, the export of accelerators, antioxidants, ammonium sulfate, diammonium phosphate, and polymeric MDI accounted for a relatively high proportion of more than 50%.

These products have also recently shown a larger upward trend to "live up to expectations". Not only did they rise up to 179% over the same period last year, but also frequently filled orders, shortages of goods and even out of stock and the need to line up. The hot state is obvious.

Polyurethane industry chain:

TDI quoted at RMB 14,666.67/ton, a year-on-year increase of 39.68%;

The price of polymer MDI was RMB 20,500/ton, a year-on-year increase of 74.10%;

Formaldehyde (37%) was quoted at RMB 1342.5/ton, up 54.90% year-on-year;

Propylene oxide was quoted at RMB 18,475/ton, a year-on-year increase of 82.32%;

Nitric acid was quoted at RMB 2,450/ton, a year-on-year increase of 68.97%;

Toluene was quoted at RMB 5,770/ton, a year-on-year increase of 71.73%;

The price of pure benzene was 8240 CNY/ton, a year-on-year increase of 162.42%.

Epoxy resin industry chain:

Bisphenol A was quoted at RMB 26,600/ton, a year-on-year increase of 174.56%;

Epichlorohydrin was quoted at RMB 15,400/ton, a year-on-year increase of 57.14%;

Phenol was quoted at RMB 9,680/ton, a year-on-year increase of 73.63%.

Other products:

Aniline was quoted at RMB 10,100/ton, a year-on-year increase of 138.58%;

Ammonium sulfate was quoted at RMB 1,175/ton, a year-on-year increase of 108.58%;

The price of titanium dioxide was 19,000 CNY/ton, an increase of 54.48% year-on-year.

In the first half of this year, resin products and titanium dioxide products were all driven by the sudden increase in demand, and there was a favorable situation. Not only did the orders fill up, but the prices also rose. Some companies have even begun to "select" customers, requiring cash to place full orders in line, and "big tricks" such as raw material auctions and limited sales are frequently used. At present, the overseas epidemic situation is still severe. Southeast Asian countries and manufacturing industries have been hit by the epidemic and suspended operations. The parks are closed, and production and sales have been severely hit. my country's foreign trade exports will continue to run at a high level in the short term, and there will be a downward trend in the long term.