PVC imports to Belarus slumped by 40% in January and February 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to Belarus fell by 40% over the first two months of 2014, which was caused by a slump in demand for finished products, according MRC analysts.

PVC imports into Belarus fell in January and February of 2014 to 3,400 tonnes from 5,700 tonnes a year earlier. PVC shipments were cut from Europe and the US because of a major fall in demand for finished products from PVC, particularly, for shaped and linear articles.

Some Belarusian converters were forced to shut down their production for maintenance as early as December 2013 because of almost a complete absence of demand for finished products from PVC both in the domestic and foreign markets. Companies resumed operations only in February, which affected PVC purchasing over the first two months of the year.

Germany still remained the main PVC supplier to Belarus. PVC imports from this country fell by more than twice over the stated period to 1,200 tonnes (3,100 tonnes - a year earlier). At the same time, imports from Poland rose to 1,500 tonnes from 1,300 tonnes a year earlier.

Russian producers managed to increase their presence in the Belarusian market over the first two months of 2014 because of lower prices compared with prices of European producers. PVC imports from Russia totalled about 500 tonnes (40 tonnes - a year earlier).

PVC imports from the US dropped in January and February of 2014 to 44 tonnes from 557 tonnes in January and February of 2013.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi-based Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co (Petro Rabigh) reported interim financial results for the fiscal period ending on March 31, 2014, said 4-traders.

The company made SAR 413.1 million net earnings (SAR 0.47 a share) in Q1-14, against SAR 658.1 million losses (SAR 0.75 a share) a year earlier. The company also reported a first-quarter operating profit of SR416 million compared with a SR628-million operating loss one year earlier. Sales were not disclosed.

As MRC reported before, Aramco and Sumitomo plan to expand the Petro Rabigh plant, and Aramco is building additional chemical capacity at Jubail on the Gulf.

PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, has an annual output capacity of 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals. For the whole of 2013, Petro Rabigh’s net profit declined 26.5% to SR359.2m.
MRC

МОSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in VAE emulsions, announced increase in the price of vinyl acetate-based dispersions sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the companies press-release.

PVAc homopolymer dispersions will increase by up to EUR175/MT effective May 1, 2014, or as contracts allow. Vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl copolymer dispersions will increase by up to EUR125/MT effective May 1, 2014, or as contracts allow.

This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building and construction, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2013, Celanese said it would begin discussions concerning the possible closure of both the acetic anhydride facility in Roussillon and the vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) production unit in Tarragona. This action is initiated to safeguard the competitiveness of the Celanese acetyl business.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. With sales almost equally divided between North America, Europe and Asia, the company uses the full breadth of its global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for customers and the corporation. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of EUR6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Kuraray Co., Ltd. has developed LEGENDA, a micropatterned film that can be used in such devices as LED lamps, reported the company in its press release.

Since this product can be used to produce a myriad of colors and effects when used in conjunction with conventional point-source LEDs, it holds great potential for applications in fields ranging from sophisticated designer lamps to toys and entertainment devices, which often demand particularly eye-catching visual properties.

To create the film, Kuraray first developed metal stampers using its own proprietary mastering technology. The company then developed a method of applying a UV-curable resin to the surface of a substrate film with the resultant film being simultaneously cured and stamped with intricate micropatterns to produce a unique light-shaping film.

By placing the film in front of an LED, a variety of effects can be achieved as the film refracts, reflects, scatters or diffracts the light, depending on the micropattern used.

Material that are suitable for such films production are acrylic film, PET, polycarbonate, etc.

As MRC wrote earlier, in December 2013, Kuraray and DuPont, the biggest US chemical maker by market value, signed a definitive agreement for DuPont to sell Glass Laminating Solutions/Vinyls (GLS/Vinyls), a part of DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers, to Kuraray for USD543 million, plus the value of the inventories. The sale is expected to close during the first half of 2014 pending customary regulatory approvals.

Kuraray has a long history in production of vinyl acetate production starting in 1926 with the production of synthetic rayon, which was cutting-edge technology at the time. In the 1950s, Kuraray became Japan's first domestic producer of synthetic fiber, becoming a world leader in the commercialization of PVOH (Kuraray Poval) fiber under the KURALON brand.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into Russia surged in the first quarter of 2014 by 38% year on year and totalled 55,000 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Such a major increase in imports over the stated period was caused by anomalously large shipments in January. The overall PET imports to Russia totalled in January 25,300 tonnes (9,100 tonnes - in January 2013). At the same time, February and March imports were 15,000 tonnes and 14,800 tonnes, respectively, which is a normal figure for the Russian PET market at the beginning of the year.

However, having significantly increased inventories, local companies reduced their buying activity in the Russian domestic market, which also resulted in weak domestic demand in the first quarter.

The Chinese producer - Shanghai Hengyi Polyester was a leader in PET shipments to Russia over the reporting period(its imports totalled 13,000 tonnes).

Chinese producers continued to replace other foreign PET suppliers. The share of Chinese PET chips imports rose in the first quarter of 2014 to 70% from 57% over the same quarter of 2013.
MRC