Summary: The COVID-19 outbroke and spread speedily during the Spring Festival in 2020, threatening the health and lives of people. The price of 2,4-D TC remained nearly unchanged, compared with that before the Spring Festival. But the operating rate went down slightly.
The COVID-19 outbroke and spread speedily during the Spring Festival in 2020, threatening the health and lives of people. The price of 2,4-D TC remained nearly unchanged, compared with that before the Spring Festival. But the operating rate went down slightly. According to price-monitoring data of CCM, the average ex-works price of 96% 2,4-D TC in early-Feb. in China was USD2,093.89/t (RMB14,500/t), and the average ex-works price of 96% 2,4-D TC in late-Jan was USD2,082.91/t (RMB14,500/t). Therefore, the price of 2,4-D TC has not been affected significantly by the disease, if effect of exchange rate changes excluded.
The investigation result from CCM showed that 14 companies are producing 2,4-D in China currently. Here are some production capacities of them: CAC Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd. (CAC Nantong) with 50,000 t/a 2,4-D, Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd. (Jiangxi Tianyu) with 40,000 t/a 2,4-D, Shandong Weifang Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd. (Weifang Rainbow) with 20,000 t/a 2,4-D, Ningxia Gerui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. (Ningxia Gerui) with 20,000 t/a 2,4-D, and Shandong Qiaochang Chemical Co., Ltd. with 1,000 t/a 2,4-D.
It is reported that CAC Nantong is free from the difficulty of resumption because its operation remained normal during the Spring Festival. But its operating rate went down slightly because workers from other cities were asked to postpone their time of returning to work. Same with CAC Nantong, Weifang Rainbow located in Green Chemical Park, Coastal District in Weifang City is faced with the problem of limited manpower. But it will ensure the normal operation and meet the demand of the clients by all means. It is worth mentioning that as of 16 Feb., the resumption rates of large-scale industrial companies in Green Chemical Park, Coastal District in Weifang City reached 96%, and the attendance rate reached 74.7% with 27,000 staff on their positions. Ningxia Gerui had reduced the production load and remained normal operation during the Spring Festival. It has made some adjustments and arranged 1 production line to produce 84 liquid disinfectant that used to prevent and control the disease. The decision of prolonging the Spring Festival Holiday has been made by Shandong Qiaochang, thus it has not resumed yet.
As for the raw material of 2,4-D, phenol is one of the major raw materials for the production of 2,4-D. Affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, the operating rate of phenol has decreased slightly, compared with that before the Spring Festival. The operating rate of purified petroleum benzine, raw material of phenol, has been down by 15% generally and remains at 50% –60% at present. Moreover, the traffic control has brought the difficulty in procurement of related raw materials to the producers of 2,4-D. The operating rate might go down due to the limited supply of raw materials, if the disease can’t be curbed for long time, even though the production can be under normal status in short term.
You can find out more information about this article at the CCM Herbicide China News Feb.2020 or email emarket1@cnchemicals.com.