Sodium Bisulfite Values Continue to Follow the Downward Trajectory in China

After gaining momentum in June, the recovery in the world's second-largest economy has stalled as Covid flare-ups have resulted in tighter restrictions on activity in the major provinces of China, while one of the dominating markets for nutraceuticals and food additives lurched from crisis to crisis. Worries about worldwide recession clouded the prognosis for exports, and most Chinese manufacturers struggled with fluctuating raw material prices that reduced their profit margins.

In the midst of massive lockdowns, China's economy hardly expanded in the second quarter. Top authorities recently gave the impression that their stringent zero-Covid policy will continue to take precedence. According to Capital Economics, China's economic recovery is likely to take longer than expected because of regulatory restrictions, the ongoing danger of additional lockdowns, and low consumer confidence. Because of the increased output and demand from the end-user sectors, it is anticipated that the port and supply bottlenecks will likely improve this quarter. The domestic and foreign retailers will restock their shelves to meet the downstream demand.

The Sodium Bisulfite market in China commenced the month of August on a negative note. In July, some manufacturers modestly reduced the ex-factory price of Sodium Bisulfite due to the ongoing reduction in upstream raw material prices. This caused the price of Sodium Bisulfite in the domestic market to fluctuate back and forth between rising and falling. The increase in new orders from manufacturers is still somewhat constrained due to the ongoing fall in the pricing of upstream raw materials, which has strongly influenced downstream trading firms. Manufacturers repeatedly reduced their ex-factory pricing to secure shipments, which caused the price of Sodium Bisulfite on the domestic market to decrease sporadically in July.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Sodium Bisulfite on the domestic market up until the last week of August will still have some potential to drop due to the simultaneous suppression of supply and demand.