Indo sorbitol market caught in price war

31 March 1997 00:00  [Source: ACN]

A TUSSLE over the Indonesian sorbitol market following recent capacity expansions has pushed prices down nearly 23% over the last year. Sole Indonesian producer Sorini, however, said it has no plans to file for antidumping measures to be imposed against international competitors.

A Sorini official said aggressive attempts to carve a bigger market share in the domestic 23 000 tonne/year market is the prime reason behind the price war. Industry observers said prices fell from US$650/tonne early last year to US$500/tonne this year.

'The industry is growing only at 2-3%/year, but players such as Cerestar have almost doubled capacity, while Roquette has upped capacity by 50 000 tonne/year to 250 000 tonne/year,' the official said. Last August, Sorini also raised its capacity from 30 000 tonne/year to 50 000 tonne/year.

The official said imports to Indonesia are limited, expecting about 1000 tonne each year. He said there are no plans to file a complaint with Indonesian antidumping committee Kadi, but does not rule out doing so if prices continue to drop.

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