Significant Drop in Sodium Ascorbate Demand Triggers Price Decline in September 2023

The market conditions for September 2023 depicted a significant drop in the downstream sector as the demand for Sodium Ascorbate continued to remain pessimistic across the United States. Considering the spot market inquiries, manufacturers across the exporting regions have sufficient inventories among the merchants to meet the overall inquiries within the domestic and overseas markets. Weaken regional purchasing activity, along with supply chain disruptions around the world, had led to a higher accumulation of downstream products, further attributed to this September's market trend for Sodium Ascorbate. Apart from that spread, the spread chart between upstream Vitamin C and downstream Sodium Ascorbate had a parallel downward side, which added to the sentiment surrounding the depreciation of Sodium Ascorbate's pricing.

Within continuous decrease in consumption of Sodium Ascorbate in the downstream preservatives, dietary, and food industries, mounting manufacturing costs as a result of increasing energy and other input costs, and the easy accessibility of feedstock materials, such as the Ascorbic Acid and Sodium Bicarbonate used in the production of Sodium Ascorbate, reduced shipments within the domestic market in the United States for this month coupled with higher stockpiles among the merchants. This further compelled the suppliers to lower their future quotations for Sodium Ascorbate and focus on destocking their accumulated stockpiles, contributing to this decline in Sodium Ascorbate prices throughout September 2023.

Additionally, after witnessing an upside-down market trend throughout the third quarter of 2023, the manufacturers began offering more competitive pricing strategies as they engaged in fierce competition. In the latter part of September, despite the usual spike in demand during that season, Sodium Ascorbate saw a drop in demand, primarily because of reduced exports. This change in the market dynamics was instrumental in achieving price stability for Sodium Ascorbate. However, it was escorted by a persistent decline in interest among downstream buyers. Following the upcoming holiday season in one of the exporting regions of certain pharmaceutical excipients, upstream Vitamin C and its downstream products Sodium Ascorbate prices went through additional fluctuations and declines, adding strain on its cost structure. As per the market participant's expectation, the Sodium Ascorbate prices are expected to increase in the upcoming months with a very steady rise in demand, which might be balanced with the overall availability of supply presented among the domestic and overseas merchants. Moreover, ChemAnalyst anticipates a rise in demand driven by changes in environmental conditions, which might result in rising consumption of certain pharmaceutical excipients owing to antimicrobial properties, potentially leading to price hikes.