Higher Freight and Delayed Shipments Shoot Acrylic Acid Prices in India

Disruption in trade due to container shortage has left the imports of many chemical commodities out of position since January. The delayed imports due to container shortage has thus resulted in high shipment charges along several trade routes to Asia and West. Although several commodities have adhered an upward pressure on the prices in India, prices of Acrylic Acid being a majorly important chemical has climbed to skyrocketing heights.

The price surge has been exacerbated by persistent shortage of the product due to turnarounds at two of the major Asia manufacturers, Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical Co. in China and LG Chem in South Korea in the December-January period. As per our market sources, although Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical Co. has restarted production, but the company is restraining to take any new contracts as their previous deliveries are yet to be cleared.

Acrylic Acid, being a petrochemical, surged globally with consistent increment in crude values in the first quarter of 2021. Backed by the present market conditions, Acrylic Acid prices have increased by around 60% since February in India.

As per ChemAnalyst, “The global shortage of Acrylic Acid due to several turnarounds and lack of shipping space is expected to further adhere an upward swing in its prices fundamentals in the domestic market in the next two weeks.” Acrylic Acid is majorly utilized to produce acrylate esters and resins which is further subjected to manufacture coatings and adhesives. In addition, it also highly demanded in various detergent polymers and for water treatment chemicals.