(ICIS) -- Taiwan's Nan Ya Plastics may be forced to enter the monoethylene glycol (MEG) spot market if the company runs out of inventories to supply to its domestic contract customers, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday. ⌠Once we feel it is necessary, we may enter the spot market. It is possible, said David Tsou from the investor relations department of Nan Ya Plastics.
The move is likely to have an impact on MEG prices in Asia, which are already on the rise after the Yunlin county government ordered Nan Ya Plastics to shut its MEG plants for safety checks from 1 June following a fire at Formosa group's Mailiao petrochemical complex on 12 May.
The company's shutdown at its MEG plants caused Asia's MEG spot prices to rise to USD 1.245-1.255/tonne (EUR 859-866/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) China Main Port (CMP) early on 22 June, which is a steep increase of USD 130-135/tonne or 12% from its prices in May.
Nan Ya Plastics is part of the Formosa group, Taiwan's largest petrochemical player. The company's plants can produce 1.9m tonnes/year of MEG, which account for 10% of Asia's total MEG capacity.
MRC