For the Quarter Ending June 2022
North America
In the second quarter of 2022, the market trend of Sodium Bicarbonate in the North American region remained static due to consistent offtakes in the downstream industries, including food and beverages and pharmaceuticals. As the USA was already struggling with high inflation and Supply constraints, the comeback of COVID -19 in China's commercial hubs during the last week of April worsened the supply of Sodium Bicarbonate in the country. Throughout the entire quarter, local traders and purchasers were concerned about the high prices of food additives and raw materials due to geopolitical upheaval in Russia and Ukraine and the volatile nature of oil prices.
APAC
The Asia Pacific Region's Sodium Bicarbonate market demonstrated an upward trajectory during the second quarter of 2022. China's domestic food and beverage industry had a strong end-user demand throughout the quarter. Given that China is the world's top supplier of food additives, the covid outbreak effectively delayed the delivery of the product in the foreign markets, leading to soaring freight prices and supply and port bottlenecks. China's "irrational" Zero Covid policy, which hampered the production and shipping of everything from necessities to commodities, hurt supply chains. The dismal results demonstrated how much China's economy has slowed due to intermittent lockdowns in some of the nation's most important economic hubs. Restrictions on transportation and logistics networks caused product distribution across the nation and to important foreign shipping ports to be hindered.
Europe
The domestic market trend for Sodium Bicarbonate in the European region increased during the second quarter of 2022 despite the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The crisis made it harder for exporting nations to do business even while it raised transportation costs and hindered the flow of commodities into Europe. Due to suppliers having enough inventory to meet all domestic demand, end-user industries, including the food and beverage industries, experienced strong offtakes during the entire quarter.
For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
In North America, prices of Sodium Bicarbonate continued to surge during the Q1-2022, on account of enhanced consumption in food and beverage industries. Growing number of bakeries and confectioneries propelled the prices of Sodium Bicarbonate upward. Furthermore, the escalated prices of upstream, Soda Ash also contributed heavily to the price hike of Sodium Bicarbonate in the considered territory. Besides, skyrocketed crude oil prices and freight charges further fuelled the Sodium Bicarbonate prices. Conclusively, the assessed prices of Sodium Bicarbonate were at USD 1480/Tonne FOB Illinois in the month of March.
Asia Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region witnessed an upward trajectory in the prices of Sodium Bicarbonate during the 1st quarter of 2022. The prime reason driving the Sodium Bicarbonate market is robust demand from food and beverage industry. As the consumption of baked and fried food increased in the Asian Countries, so is the offtake of Sodium Bicarbonate. Additionally, shortage of cargoes and congestion on ports, restricting the shipment of goods, further added to the already augmenting price value of Sodium Bicarbonate. Moreover, surged crude oil prices owing to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and enhanced feedstock prices supported the price hike of Sodium Bicarbonate. In the domestic market of India, the prices of Sodium bicarbonate landed at USD 497/Tonne Ex-Mumbai in the month, March.
Europe
In Europe, the prices of Sodium bicarbonate were soaring throughout the 1st quarter of 2022 by approximately 4.5%, backed by firm downstream demand. The European countries like Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom were showcasing strong demand for liquid detergent, in turn, enhanced the consumption of Sodium Bicarbonate. Furthermore, intensified fuel prices due to the war tensions between Russia and Ukraine, further increment in logistic charges, and congested ports contributed to the price hike of Sodium Bicarbonate. Growing prices of Soda Ash (feedstock) also supported the overall rise in Sodium Bicarbonate Prices.
For the Quarter Ending December 2021
North America
Sodium Bicarbonate prices kept rising in the fourth quarter of 2021 across the North American region on the back of the firm offtakes from the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and other downstream industries. The disrupted supply chain and increased raw material costs have supported the market trend in Q4. Soaring freight charges along with prolonged transport issues and the sudden spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have further exacerbated the increased prices of Sodium Bicarbonate across the North American region.
Asia
During the 4th quarter of 2021, the market trend of Sodium Bicarbonate continued to showcase positive sentiments across the North American region. In the Chinese domestic market, on the back of the firm offtakes, the prices of Sodium Bicarbonate were assessed at USD 452/mt FOB Qingdao in the first week of October. In India, Ex-Mumbai Sodium Bicarbonate prices rose significantly in quarter four and shot up from USD 378.04/mt to USD 415.11/mt from October to December. A hike in the production cost due to inflationary pressure also contributed to the price escalation in the country. Due to the consistent demand from the Indian domestic market, Sodium Bicarbonate manufacturers revised their offers in order to sustain their profit margins. The prices are expected to remain stagnant in Q1 2022, as the demand fundamentals from the domestic market are not going to change any time soon in the country.
Europe
In Europe, the market trend of Sodium Bicarbonate remained firm throughout the 4th quarter. A hike in demand was observed from the downstream manufacturers in Q4 2021. The increased commodity prices, skyrocketing freight costs, high feedstock prices, supply bottlenecks, and the emergence of the Omicron have exacerbated the Sodium Bicarbonate market in the European region. In terms of demand, strong offtakes from the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries were observed during this quarter.
For the Quarter Ending September 2021
North America
In North America, Sodium Bicarbonate prices witnessed an uptrend in the third quarter of 2021. In the US, demand from the feed, food and pharmaceutical industry remained firm throughout this quarter.Despite ample supplies of Sodium Bicarbonate, a hike in the pricing trend was observed backed by the spike in the values of its raw materials. In addition, many production units in the US remained closed as a repercussion to Ida hurricane that made landfall in the Gulf Coast of the US in August end that directly impacted the supply chain of feedstock which consequently surged the prices of Sodium Bicarbonate in this timeframe.
Asia
In Asia, Sodium Bicarbonate prices soared during the third quarter of 2021 backed by the firm demand from the downstream industries. In addition, delayed imports backed by several factors such as clogging on interoceanic trade routes, unavailability of the shipping containers along with the coronavirus zero-tolerance protocol measures led to the scarcity of the feedstock which also contributed to the pricing trend of Sodium Bicarbonate. In India, Sodium Bicarbonate market outlook appeared bullish due to the robust demand and tight supply fundamentals that kept the pricing trend high throughout this quarter. Moreover, rising production cost due to the freight congestion coupled with inflation compelled manufacturers to make positive revisions to sustain profitability. Therefore, Sodium Bicarbonate price witnessed a significant hike and settled around USD 374.07/MT Ex-Mumbai.
Europe
In the European Market, Sodium Bicarbonate observed surge in the pricing trend during the third quarter of 2021. Demand outlook remained firm throughout the quarter following the improvement in its offtakes from the downstream industries after the resurgence of industrial and commercial activities. Moreover, delayed imports and high freight charges led to the increment in the values of Sodium Carbonate in this timeframe.
For the Quarter Ending June 2021
North America
Sodium Bicarbonate prices showcased a stable rise during this quarter, bolstered by firm offtakes from the downstream end user segments and rising feedstock prices. On the demand side, strong offtakes of the product from the regional pharmaceuticals sector were reported throughout the quarter, while in other segments demand showed a staggering rise driven by industrial rebound. In addition, major manufacturers of Sodium Bicarbonate revealed that they received strong demand from the automotive and photovoltaic cell market. Therefore, a considerable rise in the price of this product was observed during Q2 2021, in USA.
Asia
The Asian market witnessed mixed sentiments for Sodium Bicarbonate during this quarter, which varied country over country. In China, Sodium Bicarbonate maintained buoyancy throughout the quarter amid volatile demand condition, while the prices maintained firmness taking support from the factors like inflation and soaring raw material prices. Meanwhile in India, prices primarily fluctuated with the demand fundamentals, which were changing rapidly due to the resurgence of pandemic in the country. However, several Indian manufacturers raised Sodium Bicarbonate offers by a significant percentage to absorb the sharp surge in the overall production cost. Tata Chemicals raised its ex-works offers for Technical Grade Sodium Bicarbonate to USD 275.61/mt in June, up by about USD 13/mt from its last revision.
Europe
The European Sodium Bicarbonate manufacturers also reported stable demand while the availability remained adequate enough. In Europe, the demand for Sodium Bicarbonate remained sturdy from the pharma segment, for the production of antacid, while other sectors remained modest. Demand for the food grade material also reported strong gains with rising inflation also a factor affecting the regional demand. On the other side, prices of this product primarily affected by strong demand from the automotive sector of the region, as European automotive sector showcased more offtakes in comparison with other regions.
For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
Sodium Bicarbonate demand maintained an overall stability throughout the quarter across North America. The demand side was majorly driven by food, pharmaceutical and animal feed segment, while other segments like water treatment, Industrial chemicals remained comparatively low performing in the region. However, in the midst of stable demand, the supply remained limited across the region, which was due to the limited availability of raw materials like Ammonia and weather-related constraints. Freezing fallout in USA curtailed the production activity across several downstream sectors that reduced the availability pf the key raw materials.
Asia
The Asian market demonstrated mixed sentiments for Sodium Bicarbonate in Q1, with demand largely varying country over country. However, the overall demand for the Asian market remained stable with prices fluctuating in limited range. In China, the price of Sodium Bicarbonate depicted an overall downward trajectory, backed by stable demand with abundant availability reported across the country. While in India, prices fell during February which later resumed strength in March. The reason behind this was improved production activities in the midst of modest demand. The prices of Sodium Bicarbonate hovered around USD 300/MT and USD 261.8/MT in China and India respectively during the month of February.
Europe
The European market experienced stability in demand for Sodium Bicarbonate during Q1 2021, bolstered by steadily improving economy post recovery from pandemic during March. Raw material availability remained a matter of concern in the region with several reasons, like curtailed transportation activity after unfavourable weather scenario reduced imports from USA and critical shortage of shipping containers exacerbated the tightness in overseas supply. However, demand from the downstream segments like animal feed and pharmaceutical sector maintained stability, which primarily supported the overall market in this quarter.
For the Quarter Ending December 2020
Asia
Since Asia Pacific Region is dominating region from manufacturing of Sodium bicarbonate, it witnessed incredible gains backed by its consistent increment in its usage after Covid-19 Outbreak. For the quarter ending December one of the largest players of Sodium Bicarbonate based in India, reported that it has witnessed a sharp increment in its imports. Although the local demand for countries like India and China remained in a stable to firm range, consistent increase in export demand from pharmaceutical sector provided a strong push in its market fundamentals. Consequently, Sodium Bicarbonate prices for the quarter ending December averaged at USD 280 per MT in India.
Europe
Demand for Sodium Bicarbonate in Europe remained in a stable to firm range buoyed by its consistent usage in pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. As in Europe, the packaged food material demand increased due the threat of new coronavirus which further enhanced the demand for Sodium Bicarbonate from food industry. In line with the slight upward push in the demand fundamentals for Sodium Bicarbonate in Europe its prices also increased marginally in the regional market.
North America
Sturdy demand from end-use industries like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water treatment in Q4 as people remained highly aware for hygiene and cleanliness after buzz of resurgence of Coronavirus in several parts of Europe. Its demand is expected to stay strong supported by the government initiatives to increase the R&D activities in the region. The pharmaceutical companies contributed to the high demand of sodium bicarbonate in this region in Q4,2020.
