PP imports to Russia dropped by 18% in January 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The dependence of the Russian market on polypropylene (PP) imports continued to decline. January PP imports fell by 18% year on year and totalled 8,700 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope.

The growth of domestic production allowed to significantly reduce the dependence of the Russian market on foreign supplies last year. PP imports fell by 22% in 2014 to 168,600 tonnes. This trend continued this year, January PP imports decreased to 8,700 tonnes from 10,600 tonnes in January 2014 and 11,200 tonnes in December 2014.

The overall structure of PP imports by grades looks the following way over the stated period.

Last month's imports of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) decreased to 2,800 tonnes versus 4,800 tonnes in January 2014 and 3,200 tonnes in December 2014.
Producers of injection moulding products accounted for the main imports of homopolymer PP.

January imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP-block) dropped to 2,000 tonnes from 2,500 tonnes over the same month of 2014 and 2,700 tonnes in December. Pipes producers accounted for the main reduction in shipments.

Last month's imports of statistical propylene copolymer (PP-random) were 2,100 tonnes versus 1,400 tonnes in January 2014 and 2,500 tonnes in December. Local BOPP films producers almost doubled their purchasing of propylene copolymers, whereas producers of pressure pipes reduced their imports by almost 2.5 times.

Imports of other polymers of propylene totalled 1,800 tonnes over the said period.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's imports of polycarbonate (PC) were 929 tonnes in January 2015, down 75% in the same time year on year, according to MRC DataScope report.

This significant decline in demand for imported PC resulted, primarily, from the devaluation of the rouble and the price rise in the domestic market. Because of the current economic situation in Russia, many converters can not afford to work on imported feedstock. The market of ready products is not ready to accept the price rise of the final products. Some companies had to suspend operations.

Especially this applies to those sectors of the PC market, which is completely dependent on external markets (bottle grade PC). Traders said that buyers more carefully planned procurement of the feedstock to avoid the excess of stocks inventories. In particular, this applies to purchases of imported material. One of the reason for the decrease in PC imports in January was the sufficient stocks of imported material.

Market participants reported in late January the shortage of Russian extrusion PC in the market. However, the demand for imported PC did not improve because of its high price. The way out of the situation for the converters was increasing the share of recycled materials in the production, or even a full switching to the recycled material.

In case of further weakening of the rouble market players expect a drop in demand for imported PC, with increased share of Russian PC consumption. However, the full import substitution of imported PC is not possible in the Russian market so far because of lack of capacity. At the same time, smaller converters, most likely not be able to continue to work, as they can not overcome the break-even point based on the current PC price level.


Russia's PC imports decreased to about 35,000 tonnes, down 8% year on year. Demand for imported extrusion PC granulate increased to 26,300 tonnes in 2014, up 4% year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has announced the global availability of an expanded range of MEVOPUR standard masterbatches and compounds in the popular polycarbonate (PC) resin, reported the company on its site.

The move offers medical devices manufacturers a consistent and traceable supply of products that support the acceleration of medical device regulatory approval processes.

For five years Clariant has been a pioneer in offering a globally available standard color ranges, in multiple polymer carriers, where the ingredients of the masterbatch have been pre-tested according to ISO10933-1 and US Pharmacopoeia 87 and 88 (USP Class VI). In 2010 Clariant introduced the brand MEVOPUR for products specifically developed for the medical device and pharmaceutical packaging markets. These products are produced under controlled manufacturing process in EN-ISO13485 certified plants on three continents. In the same year the first 'ISO/USP standard colors' in polyolefins and PEBA elastomers were launched.

Polycarbonate (PC) resins are often chosen for medical device applications because they offer a combination of properties such as clarity, toughness and heat resistance e.g. for steam sterilization. In addition, PC is used as one component in 'alloys' such as PC/ABS resins; often selected for use in the outer casing of drug-delivery pen devices. To maximize the properties it is important that the carrier for the masterbatch is compatible with the PC or PC/ABS resin. Clariant has addressed this issue by using a medical grade PC resin in the new products added to the MEVOPUR range.

Clariant’s MEVOPUR standard colorants are based on biologically-evaluated ingredients using the test protocols of USP monographs 87, 88 for Class VI devices or ISO10993 parts 4, 5, 10, 11 and 18. "The continuous expansion of the standard portfolio plus Clariant’s expertise in color design shows we are committed to trying to simplify the life of a project engineer or regulatory manager by reacting to the requirements of the healthcare industry," explains Duckworth.

As MRC reported before, Clariant's Masterbatches, a devision of the world leader in specialty chemicals Clariant, has recently presented two innovative products - REMAFIN-EP white masterbatches and Hydrocerol nucleating agents, which cater to the needs of India’s pharmaceutical and infrastructure industries, respectively.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase list and off-list selling prices for the following acetyl products, as well as implement a surcharge for specific engineered materials products, said the producer on its site.

Celanese continues to be impacted by currency movements as a result of the recent significant euro devaluation. These actions are necessary as part of the company's efforts to mitigate these impacts. Customers should contact their Celanese sales representative for more details regarding this announcement.

Prices of acetyl products in Europe will be increased, as follows:

- acetic acid - by EUR50/tonne;
- ethyl acetate - by EUR70/tonne.

Price increases for these acetyl products are effective March 1, 2015, or as contracts allow.

Celanese will also implement a surcharge to all European selling prices of Fortron polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and Vectra/Zenite liquid crystal polymer (LCP) by 8% effective March 1, 2015, or as contracts allow.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2014, Celanese Corporation increased its price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, prices of PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl acrylic emulsions rose by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allowed. This increase was attributed to the continued pressures on raw materials, notably vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), and freight.

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

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. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company has declared a dividend of 42 cents per share, payable April 30, 2015, to shareholders of record on March 31, 2015, reported the company on its site.

This marks the 414th consecutive cash dividend issued by the Company. Dow has paid its shareholders cash dividends every quarter since 1912.

As MRC wrote before, in November 2014, The Dow Chemical Company announced an increased divestiture target aligned to further enhance the value of its portfolio and support the company’s market-driven, integrated strategy.

On track to complete its goal of realizing USD4.5 billion to USD6 billion in proceeds by year-end 2015, and with additional portfolio management actions underway, Dow is now increasing its divestiture target to USD7 billion to USD8.5 billion to be complete by mid-2016. Since 2013, the company has generated USD2.5 billion in proceeds, reallocating this capital to remunerate shareholders, fund growth and reduce debt.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC