Production of caustic soda in Russia surged by 9% in March

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In March, the total output of caustic soda by Russian plants increased by 9% from February, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Because of the large number of calendar days in March compared to February, the final production volumes of domestic plants rose by 8,100 tonnes and made about 95,000 tonnes last month. Meanwhile, an average capacity utilization of Russian caustic soda producers remained unchanged.

The share of Kaustik (Volgograd) accounted for 20% of Russia's production of caustic soda. Last month, Sayanskkhimplast and Kaustik (Sterlitamak) produced 18% and 16% of the total production volumes of the material, respectively.
Overall, in Q1 2013, the output of caustic soda by Russian plants amounted to 276,400 tonnes. The production of caustic soda in Russia remains stable year-on-year. Thus, in the first quarter of 2012, Russia produced 276,300 tonnes of caustic soda.

MRC

LDPE plant restarted by Lanzhou Petrochemical

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanzhou Petrochemical has restarted operations at a low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant, said Apic-online.

A source in China informed that the plant restarted on April 24, 2013. The producer shut the LDPE plant on 10 April because of a technical issue, the source added.

Local distributors said the price of LDPE may decline after the plant’s restart because of the increase in supply.

Located in Gansu province, China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

Lanzhou Petrochemical Company is a subsidiary of PetroChina, which has a wide range of manufacturing category in petrochemical industry, such as chemical raw materials, plastics, rubbers and fertilizers,etc.
MRC

PET consumption in Russia rose by 4% in March

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In March, consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Russia increased by 4% from February to 52,500 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

In the Russian PET market, a seasonal increase in market players' activity contributes to the growth of the estimated consumption of the material. Amid rising demand, domestic plants have raised their production of granulate. Overall, in March, PET production in Russia surged by 20% from February and made 41,300 tonnes.


Due to the growth in the production volumes of Russian granulate and an increase in sales in the domestic market, domestic companies have lowered their purchase volumes in foreign markets. Thus, in March, imports of PET to Russia amounted to about 14,700 tonnes, whereas in the previous month this index equalled 16,000 tonnes.

Exports of Russian PET show positive dynamics. Last month, PET exports made 3,460 tonnes, while in February, exports of Russian granulate amounted to about 1,400 tonnes. Despite the increase in March shipments, producers reported a weak demand in the key export markets, which did not allow to fully load their production capacities.


In January-March, the estimated rate of consumption of the material in Russia increased by 5% or 6,500 tonnes year-on-year. In the first quarter of the year, the final consumption volumes made 146,000 tonnes.

In 2012, the peak indices for the estimated PET consumption by Russian companies accounted for June. Thus, in June 2012, domestic converters consumed about 59,000 tonnes of the material.

MRC

Russian DOP will go up in value in May

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In April, the planned outage for maintenance at Salavat plant and a growing seasonal demand led to a serious increase in prices of DOP plasticizer in the Russian market, according to MRC Price report.

In early April, the increasing cost of 2-ethylhexanol resulted in rise in prices of DOP plasticizer in the Russian spot market by Rb3,000/tonne to the level of Rb70,000-72,000/tonne, including VAT and delivery.

Since 20 April, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat has shut its DOP production for a monthly turnaround. As a result, in the last week of April, the plasticizer prices reached the level of Rb72,000-75,000/tonne, including VAT and delivery, in the spot market.

Russian producers do not exclude further increases of DOP prices in May on a continuing rise in feedstock prices and limited supply. Price offers for June shipments of South Korean DOP were voiced in the range of USD77,000-79,000/tonne, including VAT and delivery.

In their turn, end-users of DOP report that, even taking into account the April price level of Russian DOP, it will be more profitable to import plasticizer, particularly, from South Korea. Thus, consumers hope that imports will limit the price rise.
MRC

Investments in PVC processing in 2012 decreased by 21%

MOSCOW (MRC) - In 2012, the investments in processing of PVC made USD74.3 mln, down 21% from 2011, when investments rose sharply after two-years fall in investments, as per MRC Annual Report on the Russian PVC market.

Investments in PVC processing in 2008 was 2.5 times higher than in 2012. In 2012 there were installed 436 production lines with total capacity of PVC processing about 450,000 tonnes/year, down almost 21% from 2011.

The investments in the largest sector of PVC processing - extrusion profile-moulding products (PMP), which in 2004-2012 made more than 50% of the total investment in the processing of PVC, gradually slow down compared to to the pre-crisis period with average annual growth of investments about 30%, is now being close to saturation.

The capacities of PMP production in 2012 amounted to 147,000 tonnes, down 19% compared to 2011, while in 2008 this figure was 435,000 tonnes.

Total investments in equipment for the production of PMP made USD36 mln, down 19% from 2011 and more than two times less than in the record 2008.

The largest share of investments in the sector PMP (more than USD20 mln) was provided by the sector of window profiles.
At the same time, growth in PVC processing by cable extrusion almost doubled - to 41,000 tonnes (74 production lines), which is more than twice less than the capacities of imported lines in 2008.

In 2012 such converters of PVC expanded their capacities:
Tarkett (production of linoleum), Narodnuy Plastic , Rehau, Terna Polymer, SP Vitrazh, they are all -PMP producers.
Converters spent about USD2 million on equipment for the production of soft PVC compounds with total capacity of 25,000 tonne/year (primarily Bashplast, Uralkhimplast Smolensk Korund).

The growth rate of PMP market is not expected to exceed 4-5% in the nearest years.
Therefore, investments in PVC processing are most likely to slowdown, although in some sectors the investments can grow faster - cable extrusion, coating, extrusion (seals).


MRC