Offers of polyethylene from China to Europe have grown quickly

(ICIS) -- Offers of polyethylene (PE) from China to Europe have grown quickly as prices in Europe rise and those in Asia remain flat, sources said on Tuesday.

An HDPE buyer, who admitted paying well above ┬1,300/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) to its European supplier, said: ⌠I have been offered product at ┬1,250/tonne [DDP]. The sticking point for buyers to accept offers from overseas sellers is the amount of time it will take for the material to arrive.

The trader said the minimum amount of time it would take to receive material would be six weeks, plus time for clearing and loading the material onto pallets. ⌠If you ask me, it's closer to eight weeks than six in total. Sailing time alone is six weeks, the trader said.

A major European producer agreed with the trader, adding that that April would be another strong month. ⌠We expect a slender increase in the April ethylene monthly contract, and we will go for margin improvement in HDPE. Product is still tight and imports won't arrive before May, the producer said.

Not all European producers are expected to target margin improvement in April, however. Some major sellers had aimed to cover just the increase in ethylene in March, and they are also expected to follow this strategy in April, maintaining that the PE market cannot support continued price hikes, which have led to record high prices for some grades.

MRC

Within a new service - MRC Video - MRC prepared Infographics abouth the situation in the Russian polymers market. In the Infographics You may hear the opinion of leading experts in FSU market of polymers concerning balance and formation of pricing in the internal market of Russia.

The growth of consumption along with limits in reduction of internal prices because of logistic shield brought the Russan market to the ⌠market of the seller. Within next three-five years polymers market will remain in such situation and it will support high prices for converters. This seems to be the main summary of MRC Annual reports.

In theory prices for polymers as well as a share of domestic producers in the internal market may be reduced after Russia's joining WTO that may occur till the end of 2011. But, from our point of view, sharp changes aren't expected in the market and the average custom for polymers will reduce from current 10% to the world's average 4-6.5% not at once but within the transition period, let's say, 5 years.

To download file with Infographics is available here (20 Mb). To watch the Infographics video, please, save the file and open in Acrobat Reader of 9.4.0 version and higher. You can download it for free here. Detailed information on development of volume polymers markets in Russia is presented in MRC Annual reports.

MRC

(Bayer) -- Following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, Bayer and its employees are providing help. First of all, Bayer is providing immediate financial aid to the value of EUR 880.000 - which is the equivalent of Yen 100 Million - to the Japanese Red Cross. The funds are intended to help assist communities or individuals severely affected by the catastrophic events. Furthermore, the company intends to provide the Japanese health authorities with around EUR 120.000 worth of health products that are urgently needed.

In addition to the immediate relief, Bayer is also calling on its employees worldwide to make donations through the Bayer Cares Foundation. The company will match the donations up to the amount of EUR 250.000. These funds are to be used for a reconstruction project yet to be defined in one of the worst affected areas.

Bayer has been operating in Japan for more than 100 years and employs some 3.660 people there. None of the employees was injured as a consequence of the earthquake or the tsunami.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- In its statement concerning the status of the company's operations after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami Sumitomo Chemical confirmed that none its employees are injured or missing. At the Chiba Works ethylene plant, (Ichihara and Sodegaura cities, Chiba Prefecture), operations continue at the main facility while adjusting the load on the plant as necessary. At most of the derivatives facilities, automatic shutdown systems were activated at the time of the earthquake and emergency shutdown procedures were undertaken. The production facilities sustained no major damage. The shut-down production facilities are being brought back into operation sequentially as their safety is confirmed, and at this stage most of the production facilities have recommenced operations, according to Sumitomo.

The financial impact of this earthquake on Sumitomo Chemical is not yet known, but any anticipated major impact will be promptly disclosed when determined.

MRC

(LyondellBasell) -- LyondellBasell announced that it will contribute up to USD 250.000 toward relief efforts in Japan by matching employee contributions to agencies providing disaster relief services.

"We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the people of Japan who have been so greatly impacted by these twin calamities," said LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly. "Our employees are responding individually to help the people of Japan who are in need and that is why we will be matching their generous contributions up to USD 250.000," Gallogly said.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company manufactures products at 58 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.

MRC