Rising Demand from the Downstream sector uplifts the Global Benzaldehyde Market

Since the beginning of April, Benzaldehyde prices have continued to escalate in the global market. The soaring price of upstream Crude oil caused by the Russia and Ukraine war has affected the feedstock cost, especially Toluene and Chlorine, which has pressurised the Benzaldehyde market. On the other hand, demand from the downstream pharmaceutical sector has remained strong. Thus, the price of Benzaldehyde has continued to rise. In addition, Benzaldehyde is used as the intermediate in the manufacturing of drugs like Ampicillin, Phenylglycine Pseudo Ephedrine, and other products.

In China, growing demand from the end-user as an intermediate in the pharmaceutical sector has weighed on the Benzaldehyde prices. China's zero-tolerance Covid policies and lockdown in certain affected cities resulted in dwindling production activities. Shanghai, China's largest metropolis, is facing its third week of shutdown, impacting the price of Benzaldehyde by shutting down production sectors as well as local markets. In addition, the interruption of logistics, transportation, and production has caused an increment in the Benzaldehyde spot prices. Furthermore, being the top exporter of Benzaldehyde, China has faced difficulties in the trade activities, mainly imports and exports, amidst the overwhelming pandemic effect. The strict lockdown restrictions, and labour shortage, continued to hinder the offloading and onloading activities, leading to the exports falling, which in turn, resulted in inadequate inventory level in the domestic and international markets. Likewise, the European market sentiments witnessed an upward trajectory in the Benzaldehyde on account of increasing crude oil and feedstock value. Additionally, due to the maintenance, one of the major producers of Chlorine (feedstock for Benzaldehyde) Dow Chemical in Germany has shut down its plant, resulting in the region's supply deficit".

As per ChemAnalyst, "Prices of Benzaldehyde are anticipated to surge in the upcoming weeks due to further rise in the Demand from the pharmaceutical sector. Moreover, trade activities might further influence the supply chain, which may lead to low availability of the product, causing the price to increase in the worldwide market. Meanwhile, Crude price is forecasted to surge, which may alter the feedstock Toluene and Chlorine cost."