On
1 May 2018, the Department of Commerce of the US announced its affirmative
preliminary determination in the anti-dumping duty investigations of imports of
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin from China. The department assigned a
preliminary dumping rate of 84.75% for Daikin Fluorochemicals and 69.34% for
Shandong Dongyue. The rates of other producers/exporters in China that are
eligible for a separate rate and that are not was 78.74% and 208.16%
respectively. In 2016, imports of PTFE resin from China were valued at an
estimated USD24.60 million. The department is scheduled to announce its final
determinations in Sept. 2018 and the International Trade Commission will make
final injury determinations on 29 Oct. 2018. If both of these two
determinations are positive, an anti-dumping duty will be imposed since 5 Nov.
2018.
According
to the petition filed by Chemours, the estimated alleged dumping margins
ranged from 23.4 percent to 408.9 percent for China, and 15.8 to 128.1 percent
for India, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Commerce
has defined the subject merchandise as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin,
including but not limited to granular, dispersion, or coagulated dispersion
(also known as a fine powder). PTFE is covered by the scope of these
investigations whether filled or unfilled, whether or not modified, and whether
or not containing co-polymer additives, pigments, or other materials. Also
included is PTFE wet raw polymer.
China’s
fluorochemicals market
The
price rises of Chinese fluorochemicals, that occurred since 2017, are the
result of rigorous environmental inspections and consequently limited market
supply. Hence, fluorochemical producers that are self-sufficient in raw
materials and free from high pressure on environmental protection will occupy a
favourable position in the market.
According
to market intelligence firm CCM, China's fluorochemical industry has been
booming since 2017. The trend is demonstrated by good sales and high prices of
most fluorochemicals. Analyst CCM summarises 4 characteristics of China's
fluorochemical industry.
Firstly,
the boom in the fluorochemical industry stems from rigorous environmental
inspections and limited raw material supply. As the demand from downstream
sectors remains strong, this industry will remain prosperous as a result.
Secondly,
the price of hydrofluoric acid (HF) climbs at the fastest rate. As HF is a key
material for the manufacture of many fluorochemicals, whether a company can be
self-efficient in HF determines its profitability.
Furthermore,
the industries of refrigerants and fluoropolymers have huge potential for
growth, from the perspective of market demand.
Finally,
an increasing number of new-type fluorine-enriched products are emerging, and
these fast-growing industries deserve attention.
According
to CCM’s research, China exported PTFE dispersion resin for USD13,328 per tonne
in April 2018, a very small drop of 0.45% compared to March. PTFE medium size
particle resin was exported by USD12,966 per tonne, a solid increase of 3.43%
compared to the previous month.
About the article
The
information for this article comes from CCM, China’s leading market
intelligence provider for the fields of chemicals, agriculture, food and feed.
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