Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are largely derived from vegetable oils such as palm and coconut oil. Most fatty acid production originates from southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In Malaysia and Indonesia, palm oil is the raw material used in the production of fatty acids while in the Philippines it is primarily coconut oil. The major applications for fatty acids are cosmetics and toiletries such as shampoos, liquid detergents and body lotions. They are also used as lubricants and plasticisers in rubber and polymer processing.

Fatty Acids in North America are produced primarily from tallow fats. The basic acids from this production are the C18 Stearic acids. 

In the production process of these fatty acids, the main feedstock is Bleachable Fancy Tallow – renderer – (BFT) which is the tallow fat resulting from rendered cattle and hog material after slaughter. Glycerine is a co-product of fatty acid production.

In Europe, both tallow and vegetable based fatty acids are produced and traded.

ICIS pricing covers fractionated fatty acids in Asia-Pacific, the US Gulf and Europe.

Frequency:

Published weekly on Wednesdays

Fatty Acids – Fractioned (ASIA-PACIFIC)

Weekly Price Assessments:

C8 Caprylic Acid Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C10 Capric Acid Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C12 Lauric Acid Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C14 Myristic Acid Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C16 Palmitic Acid Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C18 Oleic Acid Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C18 – Stearic Acid – Triple Pressed Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR JAPAN (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

CFR N.E. ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

C18 – Stearic Acid – Rubber Grade Spot Prices

FOB S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)

Fatty Acids (US GULF)

Weekly Price Assessments:

Fatty Acids Bulk Delivered

C18-STEARIC ACID-TRIPLE PRESSED (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)

C18-STEARIC ACID-RUBBER GRADE  (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)

C18 : 1 OLEIC ACID (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)

C16 PALMITIC ACID (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)

Fatty Acids (Europe)

Weekly Price Assessments:

Fatty Acids Bulk Delivered

FD NWE: DISTILLED STANDARD TALLOW OLEIC ( EUR/MT)

FD NWE: FULLY HYDROGENATED TALLOW STEARIC ( EUR/MT)

FD NWE: C18 TRIPLED PRESSED PALM STEARIC ( EUR/MT)

FD NEW: STANDARD PALM OLEIC ( EUR/MT)

General Information:

Assessment window: Price assessments are based on information supplied by market participants through the week up to close of business on Wednesdays at 1700 hours in Singapore and Houston.

Specifications: The Asia-Pacific report lists a total of 22 quotes from eight chemically specified groups. The North America report quotes prices on C18 Stearic Rubber Grade and C18 Stearic Triple Pressed. The European report covers C18 distilled standard tallow oleic and C18 fully hydrogenated tallow stearic.

Timing: Cargoes loading or delivered four-six weeks forward from the date of publication.

Terms: 30-60 days after bill of lading.

Standard cargo size: Typical cargo sizes in Asia-Pacific range from 20-100 tonnes in 20 foot full container loads (FCL) and 20-100 tonnes for drummed or iso-tank parcels. In the US, 45,000 lb for tank truck and railcar loads of 150,000 lb. In Europe, vegetable fatty acids are shipped from Asia as liquid bulk in vessels containing lots of 500-1000/tones and transported domestically in truck loads of 25 tonnes. Tallow fatty acid supplies are carried within Europe in 25 tonne truck loads. In Europe, 4,000-5,000 tonnes of tallow oleic and 20,000-25,000 tonnes of tallow stearic are produced and traded per month. By comparison, 500-1000 tonnes of palm oleic and 2,000-6,000/tones of palm stearic are sold per month within Europe.

Assessment basis: The ICIS pricing Asia-Pacific fatty acids price assessments are based on information gathered throughout the week from market players comprising producers, consumers and traders. The assessment of prices takes into consideration buy/sell indications, firm bids and offers, notional price discussions and rumoured, reported and confirmed deals. In the event of lack of trades, the published price range represents the highest bids received and the lowest sell indications of the week.

Factors such as supply/demand balance, feedstock and derivative markets, and general market sentiment, are also taken into account. The Asia-Pacific report lists a total of 22 quotes from eight chemically specified groups. Each group has FOB S.E.Asia, CFR Japan and CFR N.E. Asia quotes, with the exception of the rubber-grade C18 stearic acid which has only one FOB S.E.Asia quote.

Contracts in the North American Stearic Acid markets are quarterly based upon averaging of the Bleachable Fancy Tallow values over a two to three month period. The average value is also subject to a delta – differing for each producer – that forms the final contract value for each individual buyer.

The US Gulf report also quotes prices on C18:1 Oleic Acid and C16 Palmitic Acid. Currently there is no differentiation between these acids derived from tallow and those derived from Coconut and/or Palm Kernel Oils.

The regional reports offer market commentary that includes details of traced transactions, news on the supply/demand balance, export/import information, contract price negotiations and general sentiment for price direction. Where applicable there is product information, comments on up and downstream market developments and general market intelligence.

The European report assesses quarterly contract prices of distilled standard tallow oleic and fully hydrogenated tallow stearic. Spot prices are also reported in the commentary when relevant. In addition, the text contains information on quarterly prices for palm oleic and tripled pressed palm stearic. Other vegetable based fatty acids are also included in the commentary on an ad hoc basis when they are of particular interest. The supply/demand balance in both the tallow and vegetable fatty acid markets are discussed in the text. The upstream section focuses on quarterly tallow fat prices, but also covers spot prices when applicable. Spot vegetable prices are quoted to include crude palm oil, palm olein, palm stearin, lauric feedstock crude palm kernel oil and coconut oil.

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