For the Quarter Ending June 2021
North America
Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH) demand maintained buoyancy across North America region throughout the quarter. Improved construction activities and packaging sector raised the demand for Polyvinyl Alcohol during this timeframe, while the supply activities remained limited initially. During the month of April, price of PVOH rose effectively due to scarcity of feedstock Vinyl Acetate monomer (VAM) and disturbed transportation activities, which later resumed, and prices ease again to reach normalcy. Therefore, the price of the product fluctuated a little and finally settled at USD 1355/MT during the month of June 2021. A leading global PVOH producer, Sekisui announced increment in price of its PVOH by USD 360/MT for Low viscosity and USD 450/MT for medium and High Viscosity for North America region effective from Q3 2021.
Asia
Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVOH) market remained firm throughout the quarter across the APAC region, bolstered by stable to high demand amid rising feedstock prices. Prices rose across Japan and South Korea during this quarter, which turned buyer’s interest toward cheaper cargoes from China. However, in China, prices were rising too, due to high demand and global rise in the feedstock VAM prices. While in India, Polyvinyl Alcohol prices increased due to low availability and expensive imports, although the demand was dented by the resurgence of pandemic in the country. Thus, after gaining tremendous momentum, price of PVOH settled at USD 2634/MT and USD 3056/MT for China and India respectively during the last week of the quarter.
Europe
The European countries also had to battle with global scarcity and soaring prices of PVOH during Q2 2021. While the demand remained sturdy and strong, the prices also increased effectively across the region. Sekisu, increased its Polyvinyl Alcohol prices for the global market, while highest the rise came into effect across EMEA, i.e., USD 423/MT for low viscosity and USD 530/MT for medium and high viscosity, effective from July 2021. The market reported persistent tightness in supplies due to halted supply chain activity and soaring freight cost.
For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
Freezing cold weather snapped the output of most of the chemicals from USA, during Q1 2021. Due to this crisis, the global market faced extreme shortage of major raw materials, including VAM (vinyl acetate monomer), which is a major building block of PVA. Several feedstock manufacturing units across Texas faced force majeure due to unfavourable weather conditions, like Calanese VAM manufacturing unit in Texas. Despite of high shortage across the region, traders prevented themselves from opting for raw materials coming from Middle East and Asia due to their high prices. This ended up forcing several manufacturers raise their PVOH offers by multi-year highs in the quarter.
Asia
The Asian market received a sharp rise in PVA prices due to rise in price of key raw materials amid global shortage. After Chinese Lunar year holidays, inventories were running low, but the demand remained consistently firm, which led the prices to rise effectively across the region. In addition, soaring freight cost and container shortage also pushed the prices of feedstock chemicals to rise, led to rise in PVOH prices. Increment of USD 228/MT was observed in the Chinese market from January to March ending, which settled at USD 2040/MT during March.
Europe
Similar to the global scenario Europe also faced shortage of major feedstock chemicals amidst stable demand from the downstream sectors. Several manufacturers raised prices to sustain their margin, as the prices of raw materials were rising consistently. Wacker polymers raised their PVOH solution prices by up to USD 120.6/MT in effect of the similar concerns, meanwhile the prices of PVOH in Europe were hovering around USD 1280/MT during February.
For the Quarter Ending December 2020
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) supply remained short due to power outages and production cuts at the upstream vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plants. Major producers of the feedstock such as Dairen Chemicals Corporation, Celanese, and Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon reduced their production capacities due to shortage in the upstream natural gas during peak winter season in the North-Eastern region followed by congestion reported at Panama Canal towards the end of the quarter. The minimal access to ocean freight meant limited raw material availability affected by the crude oil production cuts by the OPEC. Demand for PVA remained healthy throughout the region because of buoyant demand from the packaging films sector, display films and other specialty formulations. Pushed by demand and an upsurge in the raw material, PVA price in the Asia Pacific registered a hike of an average of USD 200 per MT in December.
Europe
Europe’s sustaining activity in the construction and the packaging films sector propelled the regional demand for PVA in Q4. The product supply was heard affected by the production outages at some upstream units throughout the region and container shortages prompting high priced imports. The European Union initiated the anti-dumping conquest over low priced imports of Chinese Polyvinyl Alcohol at the start of the quarter. The regional traders reported low inventory levels and spiked crude oil prices as the key reasons pushing up the price curve. Extending sharp feedstock rates to its customer, a leading European producer announced increment in the prices of Polyvinyl Alcohol by an average of USD 160 per MT in December.
