Insufficient supplies Surging Benzaldehyde Prices in Asia

In the Asian region, the Benzaldehyde price trend showcased bullish movement at the beginning of the third quarter of 2024 as market players raised their quotations notably by 7.2% during the month amid robust demand and stressed availability of supplies. The Benzaldehyde demand and offtakes were firm from the regional food sector. PepsiCo's India business saw high-single-digit organic revenue growth and strong increases in beverage and snack sales volumes in the second quarter of CY24. For the AMESA region, convenient foods unit volume grew by 1%, driven by double-digit growth in India, while beverage unit volume increased by 2%, also led by India. However, these gains were partially offset by declines in Pakistan, the Middle East, and Nigeria. The company noted unprecedented summer demand for beverages due to extreme temperatures. Simultaneously, orders were firm from the Pharma sector at the end of the second quarter.

Hence, the Benzaldehyde offtakes remained consistent from the market for stocking purposes to avoid supply disruptions and increased supply duration in upcoming weeks due to the ongoing typhoons and monsoons in the Asian region. However, the supplies were insufficient to cater to the market demand and offtakes were moderate from the market. In July 2024, Wuhan Dico Chemical Co., Ltd, in Hunan China, with Benzaldehyde production capacity 417 TPM, wet under force majeure due to flood from 1^st July 2024 to 9^th July 2024. Then, Jiangsu Wanlong Chemical Co., Ltd., in Jiangsu China, with Benzaldehyde production 167 TPM, went for maintenance shutdown from 12^th July 2024 to 17^th July 2024. It hampered the Benzaldehyde supplies to the Asian market. Simultaneously, the availability of feedstock Toluene was moderate in the major regional producers and exporters like South Korea during the month. The country experienced a decrease in crude oil imports due to increased freight costs and geopolitical tensions in the Middle Eastern region, leading to a decline in Toluene production rates. This resulted in limited feedstock availability and sluggish operating rates at manufacturing units.

Consequently, export rates of Benzaldehyde were sluggish from the exporters. Maersk reported a 44% drop in net profit to USD 833 million for Q2 of 2024, despite a 7% increase in loaded volume and a 2.3% rise in average loaded freight rates. Strong volume growth and higher freight rates in Asia exports were offset by increased operating costs due to challenges in the Red Sea and rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. Although profitability improved from Q1 2024 and Q4 2023, it remained below the level of the same quarter last year.

According to the ChemAnalyst data sources, the Benzaldehyde CFR JNPT quotations in India witnessed USD 1768.95 at the end of July 2024.

As per the estimation, the Benzaldehyde prices are likely to increase in the Asian region till the end of the quarter 3 of 2024. The demand for Benzaldehyde may remain firm from the Pharma sector during the mid-quarter, and purchasing activities would remain firm in the regional market. Simultaneously, the production costs would escalate due to the anticipated incline in feedstock Toluene prices amid the lack of supplies due to decreased refinery operations.