China PET firms CNY200/tonne on heavy snow

23 January 2008 09:12  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle chip prices in China have firmed yuan (CNY) 200/tonne ($27.62) due to supply cuts caused by snow storms in the country’s eastern and central areas, producers and buyers said on Wednesday.

PET bottle chip values firmed to CNY11,600-11,700/tonne DEL (delivered) from CNY11,400-11,500/tonne DEL for the week ending 18 January, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Downstream users of PET in Guangzhou, southern China, were the worst affected by the extreme winter weather.

“Our outlay has gone up because it costs a lot more to get our PET bottle chips from eastern China due to the heavy snow choking up expressways and railway tracks,” said an executive from bottled drinks producer Robust Beverage in Mandarin.

“To makes things worse, when we finally have the PET bottle chips, we don’t have the other necessary materials such as bottle caps or cardboard boxes so we can’t go ahead with production.”

He added that with strong consumer demand in light of the impending Lunar New Year festivities in early February, the company was trying its best to ramp up production to take advantage of the pre-holiday buying frenzy.

The heavy snow began falling on Monday, resulting in the closure of expressways in central and eastern China.

While buyers faced price hikes due to the cold snap, sellers were gleeful after a period when growth for PET bottle chip values was frozen due to poor demand.

“Buyers were always saying that they had sufficient inventory to last them until after the Lunar New Year festivities. I guess the weather’s shown otherwise and tilted price negotiations our way,” said a source from PET bottle chip maker Changzhou Andenie in Mandarin.

PET bottle chips are used to manufacture bottles for consumer goods such as drinking water and cooking oil.

Major PET producers in China include Far Eastern Industry Shanghai, Yizheng Chemical Fibre and Zhuhai Yuhua Polyester.

($1 = CNY7.24)

By: Hong Chou Hui
+65 6780 4359

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