Seasonal Peak Soar the Calcium Carbonate Prices in India

India: In India, the Calcium Carbonate prices continuously increase due to improved demand from the downstream cement industry. Currently, the all-India average cement cost is up by nearly 8%-12% month-on-month (MoM), ending April 2022. Whereas, for Calcium Carbonate, prices are increased by roughly 6-8%, increasing its all-time high during April end.

Since the beginning of this month, the cement players took the cost gains to pass on raw materials' cost inflation, primarily supporting the inclining Cement price trend. Additionally, dealers in the Indian domestic market are anticipating the possibility of another 3-4% hike in cement prices in May 2022, further pushing Calcium Carbonate prices to increase by at least 2-3% in May 2022. The Cement price rising trend varies across the regions, with the Central and North region showcasing a double-digit gain, nearly 13 percent increment MoM basis. At the same time, costs in the East and West regions rose by nearly 8-10% monthly. However, the market participants tried to increase Cement prices in the South, but it did not occur, with prices staying balanced with the addition of roughly 1.2 % MoM.

Indian market players are subdued on demand, while significant dealers predict a drop of almost 9-21% MoM. Expanding construction prices amid the labor shortages has moved the volumes. Additionally, the progress in the infrastructure segment and the pre-monsoon demand has provoked some resistance and is expected in May.

The cost support from the imported coal and pet coke prices have grown by more than 51% since February 2022; even diesel costs are hiked by 11% in the second quarter of 2022. A prominent market source stated that such a steep rise in input costs would warrant an incline of nearly 12-15% for holding in the Q4 margins. As described above, Cement companies are hiking prices by more than 8% and are significant for the further hikes, reducing the pressure on the margins. Thus, the prices of Calcium Carbonate are further expected to soar in the domestic market.

As per ChemAnalyst," The prices of Calcium Carbonate are expected to increase with the increase in Cement prices. Given the piled-up stocks of Cement could react pessimistically to the entry of aggressive Cement market participants such as ACC, Ambuja, and UltraTech Cement." In contrast, the demand outlook is likely to remain healthy due to the seasonal peak in India's building and construction activities ahead of the monsoon season.