MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ontario and Quebec are both ordering all non-essential businesses to shut down in an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, said Canplastics.
The order in Ontario – made on March 23, about a week after Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province – will come into effect on Tuesday, March 24 at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in place for at least two weeks.
The list of businesses that the province deems as essential was released by the government on the evening of March 23, and is available at this link.
Included on the list are supply chains – “businesses or essential services with the support, supplies, systems or services, including processing, packaging, distribution, delivery and maintenance” – and manufacturing – “businesses that extract, manufacture, process and distribute goods, products, equipment and materials, including businesses that manufacture inputs to other manufacturers (e.g. primary metal/ steel, blow molding, component manufacturers, chemicals, etc. that feed the end-product manufacturer)."
The province will also allow teleworking and online commerce at all times for all businesses. The newest announcement in Ontario comes as the province confirms that 503 people have tested positive for COVID-19.
Quebec has also closed down non-essential businesses. On March 23, Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the businesses will be ordered to close no later than midnight March 24, and until April 13. A list of essential services can be found at this link, and includes what the province calls “priority manufacturing activities including the manufacture of chemical products."
As MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil said last Monday that it is looking to reduce spending significantly as a result of market conditions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and commodity price decreases.
We also remind that in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
mrcplast.com