For the Quarter Ending June 2022
North America
In the second quarter of 2022, there were indications that the market trend for vitamin E in North America stagnated. A supply shortage that already existed in the US was made worse by the COVID shutdown in China's commercial hubs, which greatly hindered imports. Domestic merchants and buyers were concerned about high raw material prices throughout the quarter because of the US's rising inflation, the troublesome political situation in Russia and Ukraine, and the wildly unpredictable nature of oil prices. A modest increase in import, consumer, and production spending followed the abrupt change in oil prices in May. Despite the Asian blockades, in June, maritime cargo from China appeared to pass through the nation's main ports without any issues. Nevertheless, as the quarter progressed, demand from the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries remained strong.
Asia Pacific
During the second quarter of 2022, the price trend for vitamin E in the Asia Pacific region showcased a downward trend. China's domestic market had a sharp rise in nutraceuticals output during the first half of the quarter due to its factories and ports opening. After a spike in COVID-19 instances during the latter week of April, which had various effects on the nation's nutraceutical markets, the Chinese government put significant production facilities on lockdown. The end-user industries' need for offtakes remained consistent throughout the quarter. The nation's irrational Zero tolerance policy led to many cargo ships getting stuck at ports, making it more difficult to transport the product to other markets. Numerous factories were prepared to provide the products at a discount toward the conclusion of the quarter to get rid of stockpiles before they decayed due to the high COVID tariffs.
Europe
The Vitamin E market in the European region remained favorable throughout the second quarter of 2022, despite a little drop in pricing that began at the end of June. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine raised shipping costs and slowed commodities' flow into Europe, making it harder for exporting nations to conduct business. Throughout the entire quarter, demand from end-user businesses remained constant. However, the suppliers had enough inventory to meet all domestic demand.
For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
Vitamin E prices in the North American market climbed significantly in Q1 2022, owing to strong demand from the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical businesses. Several traders in the United States loaded their shelves ahead of China's spring festival holidays, resulting in sufficient supplies in the domestic market to meet overall downstream demand. The price of Vitamin E has also risen as a result of the increased demand for nutritional supplements among health-conscious consumers in the United States who want to change their eating habits. Due to prolonged port congestion and delayed supplies from Asia during the Omicron outbreak, the US nutraceuticals market remained in a state of frenzy throughout the second half of the first quarter. During the last week of March, however, ocean freight charges on the key trade channels remained consistent but remained extraordinarily high. Due to exceptional increases in freight prices during the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict, supply interruptions and manpower shortages became much worse.
Asia Pacific
The Vitamin E market in the Asia Pacific region showcased positive sentiments throughout Q1 2022 followed by the consistent offtakes in the end-user industries. In the Chinese domestic market, the prices of Vitamin E soared in the month of January owing to the increased demand from the downstream manufacturers and got settled at USD17115 per MT FOB Qingdao. Major feed grade manufacturers, including Zhejiang NHU Pharmaceutical and Shangyu NHU Bio-Chem, halted their operations in order to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of the virus, which exacerbated the pricing trend of Vitamins in the Chinese market. In early H1 of 2022, Vitamin markets remained in the wait-and-see mode as the full impact on supply was under pressure due to the winter Olympics and the Lunar new year. However, the sentiments then later rebounded after the break with increased demand for the product from the domestic as well as offshore buyers. In India, Vitamin E discussions for CFR and Ex-Mumbai were assessed at USD10434.4/mt and USD11102.93/mt, respectively on the month ending March. On the demand front, offtakes from the downstream pharmaceutical industry remained strong during the 1st quarter. The downstream demand was met because Vitamin E was readily available in the Indian home market.
Europe
The European market, began the first quarter of 2022 with strong feelings. Because of the steady intake in those industries, demand for Vitamin E from end-user firms such as pharmaceutical and nutraceutical was robust throughout the first quarter. Rocketing raw material costs, escalating energy crises, and rising freight costs continued to wreak havoc on European market emotions. Increased production cost due to high feed prices amid Russia-Ukraine further contributed to the price trend of Vitamin E in Europe. The FOB prices of Vitamin E in Germany were assessed at USD22400/mt in the starting month of Q1 2022.
For the Quarter Ending December 2021
The US domestic market trend of Vitamin E showcased positive sentiments during the 4th quarter of 2021. The prices of Vitamin E escalated from USD 24986/MT to USD 25550/MT from October to November and then later got declined in December by settling at USD 24990/MT FOB Illinois. A hike in the overall cost of production led to a substantial spike in prices where energy feedstocks soared since the later stages of Q3. The logistics issues, along with the disrupted supply chains and high freight charges, further supported the price trend in the country. In terms of demand, the fundamentals remained firm as the nutraceutical and cosmetics industry kept consistency in volume intakes.
During the fourth quarter of 2021, the prices of Vitamin E witnessed a significant rise across the Asia Pacific region. In China, Vitamin E prices for FOB Illinois shot up from USD 13932/MT to USD 16712/MT from October to December on the back of the strong demand from the downstream industries. Several manufacturers stopped offering quotations in November to the spot buyers in Q4, which resulted in the raised market sentiments. The overall supply outlook was highly influenced by the tightened supply and elevated cost of raw materials during Q4. Furthermore, the impact after the implementation of dual control on energy consumption uplifted the quotations for the upstreams in the Chinese domestic market, which later in the third week of December. In the Indian domestic market, CFR JNPT and EX-Mumbai prices for Vitamin E were assessed at USD 10509.79/MT and USD 11309.67/MT, respectively, in December.
In Europe, the prices of Vitamin E remained in the upward momentum during quarter 4 of 2021 following the price trend of the USA, which gradually gained numbers during the mid-week of November. As Netherlands and Germany are the major importers of Vitamins, spiraling raw materials costs, peaking energy crises, and soaring freight costs in China compelled to trade the product at increased prices across the region. The demand from the downstream nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries remained strong throughout the quarter.
