The European polyethylene terephthalate (PET) industry's sales in the March shopping spree were surprisingly good, but they were still unable to escape the losses caused by the economic downturn.
Consumers are concerned about necessities. For example, 1 liter, 1.5 liters or even 2 liters of PET bottled water and olive oil.
For health reasons, plastic-packed fruits, vegetables and other packaged foods have won the favor of shoppers.
The demand in April was good, especially in the first half of the year.
"Over the past month and a half, the supermarket has been filled with fruits in baskets and food on trays. It is still the same, but not so much," one buyer said.
Now that the blockade is gradually being lifted, people can jump out and shop whenever and wherever they know they need it. The situation is not as intense as before.
"Demand in Central Europe, Western Europe and Northern Europe has remained fairly stable. Although it has not increased as usual, it has not decreased compared to the first quarter. I would like to say that the relaxation of the blockade measures is having a positive impact. May and June look good "A producer said.
PET vials lose their appeal
The sales of carbonated beverages caused by the epidemic have decreased, and 500-ml PET vials have lost their appeal.
"The demand for thermoforming is making up for the decline in beverage demand," the second producer said.
Hand sanitizer is very popular, but every household is well prepared. Although the amount of use is now larger than ever, everyone can only use so much at home.
From R-PET sheet to cheap virgin resin
Interestingly, the "war on plastics" that once grabbed public attention seems to have become a distant memory. The public has accepted certain plastics as life-saving materials, and they have also accepted them as necessities for packaging.
This is not to say that the war on plastics is over and there is still a lot of work to be done to combat climate change, but at least for now, the negative image of PET is weakening.
At the same time, as the gap between R-PET and cheap PET raw materials has widened, the R-PET market itself is striving to maintain its effectiveness.
Returning from R-PET flakes to PET raw materials damages the recycling industry in Europe.
The price of PET raw material is too low to compete with it, and the financial pressure of the recycling department is too great. They believe that the R-PET sheet factory may be closed in the next few weeks (may be permanent).
Although every help is beneficial in the financial crisis, the benefits for PET raw materials are still very small, because the content of R-PET is usually around 20-30%, and if it is thin, it is as high as 50%.
Helen McGeough, senior analyst for recycling at ICIS, believes that due to the price difference between these two PET grades, there will be no real recovery in the use of flake PET until mid-2021.
Domestic purchasing preferences
In 2019, as buyers refused to succumb to domestic suppliers' price suggestions on cost-plus fees, a large influx of imported goods led to a price war between European suppliers and importers, so prices in 2020 began to be relatively stable .
At this time last year, most of the discussions involved a large increase in imports and a reduction in the operating rate of domestic producers.
In the first quarter of 2020, a very different picture was drawn. Imports have decreased significantly, and domestic production has resumed demand.
Preferences for shortening the supply chain and keeping price spreads in Asia and Europe low may be contributing factors to this trend.
It is expected that the operating rate of polymer plants will be low in 2020. In a year of declining demand and economic uncertainty, this seems to be a reasonable prediction.
But PET resin in Europe seems to be an anomaly.
After a year of particularly large imports in 2019, domestic market demand has recovered, and it is expected that the operating rate of European polyester resin manufacturers will remain stable or increase by 1% or 2% this year.
However, now, with the exception of traditional import areas such as Italy and the Balkans, no physical objects can be seen within six weeks of purchase, reducing the buyer ’s interest in buying.
Therefore, European suppliers are not only able to compete with imported products, they also have an additional advantage in a world without any assurance that they are more attractive in terms of logistics.
"I'm not going to guess how much summer demand is. This is the crisis we need to overcome," the second producer said.
Although the market has responded to the recent upstream strength, the PET industry remains cautious and demand is difficult to predict. |
163.com