Sodium bisulfite, an adaptive chemical substance that acts as a reducing agent and preservative in water treatment, food processing, and textiles, experienced dramatic price hikes in September 2024. Demand in the market improved across all sectors, with water treatment facilities speeding up buying by 15% and food processors experiencing steady usage rates of 10-12% month-on-month. Supply shortages pushed prices up as manufacturers ran at 75-80% of capacity based on shortages of sulfur dioxide feedstock and increased procurement expenses (6-8% increase). Inventories were 20-25% below optimum, and manufacturers were compelled to institute customer allocation practices. Compromised production margins were caused by increased sulfur and natural gas prices even with increased selling prices. The September price hike aligns seasonally but is at the higher end, indicating structural as opposed to purely cyclical growth in demand. Overall expectation is for further price firmness up to November 2024, and then a further 4-6% gain. Shipping difficulties, especially on China-Southeast Asia routes with 8-10% hike rates, also made market economics and trading conditions more complex.
