The price of Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in the domestic market of China barely budged last week, with an average price of $406.53/tonne at the beginning of the week and $407.25/tonne at the weekend, witnessing an increase of 0.24 percent. The price of Sodium Bicarbonate has been changed and operated, according to industry analysts, in conjunction with increased downstream demand. Sodium Bicarbonate prices are now hovering at $401.31-431.03 per tonne in Henan, a province in Central China.
The strong feed values aided this price adjustment, as the price of soda ash (primary material) was high last week. Light soda ash is now priced at $415 a tonne in East China's mainstream market. The present market price of light soda ash in Northern China is roughly $452/tonne. At the start of the week, the average price of light soda ash was $415/tonne, and at the end of the week, it was $424.32/tonne. According to the industry experts, the weekly output of feed soda ash was 597000 tonnes, up 20800 tonnes from the previous week, and the inventory of the businesses was observed at around 581300 tonnes.
On the demand side, Sodium Bicarbonate offtakes from end-user industries such as food and beverages, medicine, and textiles were reasonably high and are expected to stay so in the near future. In general, depending on downstream market demand, sodium bicarbonate prices may sustain a consolidation operation in the short run.
Considering China is the world's largest supplier of Sodium Bicarbonate, the country's present on-again, off-again lockout might stymie trade with importing countries. As projections for the easing of bottlenecks have come and gone with no improvement, it has become evident that the delays off the coast will take longer to improve. China's "unhelpful" zero-tolerance policies and restrictions continue to stifle manufacturing and logistics. Ocean carriers are increasing the number of canceled sailings or skipping ports to make up for the lost time. However, the consistency of the schedule is not improving. According to Sea-Intelligence data, vessels are seven days late on average, creating a hazy picture for logistics managers as they try to plan ahead.
